After the End of the World
by Sly-Black-Rabbit
Summary: An Epic of Armageddon; Kingdom Hearts vs. Castle Oblivion. Most characters come from Kingdom Hearts and other Square Enix games, but main characters are created by myself, and any members of the forum, which is still accepting suggestions. Enjoy!
1. Castle Oblivion Prologue 1

After the End of the World

Darkside Prologue: Oblivion and Rebirth (Axion's Story)

The snow. That was my first memory upon my destructive return from the void. Before I wound up in this hell of a war, I was out there… some few yards away from the gates of Castle Oblivion, lying in a snowy crater, most likely caused _by_ my return itself. The castle being the only inhabitable structure around, I had no choice but to enter. There was no one there when I arrived, and where all of _you_ came from, I've no idea, but for some reason this place filled me with a sense of profound hatred… there was no indication as to who this hatred was directed at… only the image of a figure cloaked in total darkness whom I met in the castle's main hall… He told me who he was, but neglected to remind me who _I_ was…

"Welcome to the beginning of the end.", the figure had said to me, refusing to leave the safety of the shadows of the room. "The end?", I asked him, my face still stinging from the cold. The figure gave no direct reply. He only laughed haughtily and slinked his way over to the next corner, like a serpent sizing up its prey. He waited for me to turn defensively before speaking again. "I am called Xehanort.", he stated, his voice sounding much closer than it actually was. A hand protruded from the shadow, all long spindly fingers but the index closed up, pointing directly at me. "And _you_", he continued, "are just in time for your very first act". He went on to remind me what had happened prior to my awakening in the snow. The world had experienced true chaos; a form of rolling death with no face… The end of the world… all worlds… came in the blink of an eye. I remembered it then. There was no time. Time ceased to exist. The imperialistic found no sanction, their kings were the first to go. The religious? No, they received no better. The only angel that visited them that day was the angel of death. Human or otherwise, nothing, not even the planets themselves survived… But I wondered… What caused such an event…? And just where the hell was I _now _if it was all destroyed?

I turned back to Xehanort (or what I could see of him) to get some answers, but there was no one there. Even the shadows of the room themselves seemed to be fleeting. There was a faint echo resounding on the other side of a massive wooden door. The echoes… the sounds weren't pleasant at all. Screams. Crashes. Approaching tumultuous footsteps. Finally, the door swings open, the force enough to send it flying off its hinges and straight toward me. Impulsively, I propelled myself toward it and somehow found the agility to land lightly on its surface and leap off of without it stopping. As I landed and turned to watch the door hit the rear wall and shatter into a splintering rain, one thought and one thought only occupied my mind… "_what the hell am I…?"_

Whatever had utterly destroyed the door remained to be seen. I cautiously approached it, wanting to take the opportunity to traverse the hallways. This entity, however, had other plans. I suddenly found myself rising into the air, unable to breathe. After much struggle, the force holding me up, I can only imagine, decided I was too much trouble, and flung me across the room. I hit the wall and slid down, in pain, but relieved to feel air in my lungs again. A harsh wind swept across my face, and suddenly I felt blood, warm between my eyes and dripping down to my neck. This invisible assailant wasn't taking prisoners. The next time it charged, something kicked in… something unfathomable. Something that couldn't have picked a better time to do so...

A light, shining from the palm of my right hand made the thing visible. A freakishly tall druid with a long, tattered, black hooded cloak with sleeves too long for the arms. The _claws_, however, far exceeded the sleeves in length. One red eye is the only thing visible inside the hood. I looked briefly at my hand to find it occupied. A keyblade, black at the guard with a silver blade and pommel, with a tiny metal wolf's head on the end of the keychain. Without very much thought at all, I stood quickly and impaled my now visible attacker and watched it writhe to the ground and vanish into smoke, unfazed, as if I'd done this a thousand times. Hell, why not…? The keyblade looked familiar enough, and I wielded it in an awkward way, backward with the blade facing behind me like a knife. Holding the weapon kicked up another memory. Before the world ended, I was… carrying out a mission. But for who?

This was my main focus as I clutched my weapon tightly and crossed the doorway into the hall.

Castle Oblivion; Present Day

Roxas closes a small black book with a tattered spine. This book, presumably a journal, is the clue as to what happened to the missing person who stumbled upon Castle Oblivion after the end of the world. He'd been walking the halls and reading for hours, and he'd finally come across the main hall with the door blown off its hinges. In the adjacent hallway, he finds a seemingly endless trail of carnage; Bodies of clawed druids littering the floors, blood staining the walls and ceiling and massive dents and craters in the floor, indicating quite a struggle. At the end of the hallway, he finds a keyblade, the one described in the journal, lying on the floor, a few feet away from its unconscious wielder; a tall male, who looks to be about nineteen years of age, with long and unkempt black hair, covering one eye. He wears a pair of black pants and the torn remains of a black-and-white striped shirt. Roxas kneels beside the figure after examining the keyblade, then shakes his head in pity. "You sure picked the wrong time to come back to life..."

-To be continued...


	2. Kingdom Hearts Prologue 1

After the End of the World

Kingdom Hearts Prologue: Consequences of Existence

Kingdom Hearts. The place where His Majesty oversaw the damnation of the world. The place where guards lost their lives and their lineage to a servant of Darkness. This is the very keyhole the entire populace of Hell itself had been looking through for so long. Once the right key was found, there was to be nothing left…

A sage scrambles down the winding hallways of kingdom Hearts, rallying all available defenses. He arrives at His Majesty's chambers to find his attention occupied by the window, and the disheartening view it provided. The sage approaches His Majesty humbly and joins him at the window. Together, they watched in chagrin and fear as the first, second and third waves of His Majesty's soldiers fall by the hands of a single warrior in a black robe and a purple masquerade persona. The figure wields three keyblades at once, one keyblade in his left hand, and two forged together in the form of a staff in his right hand. "Your Majesty-", begins the sage as he looks away from the window. "Who is that?" The King ignores his courtier's question and instead tightens his grip on _his own_ keyblade and runs off down the hall to aid his army.

Outside in the fray, the masked figure twirls the keystaff impatiently as he awaits an attack from the next wave. The army advances and gives way as His Majesty approaches to stare down the figure. Without a word, the masked figure charges the King, and the two engage in a blazing storm of slashes and parries. His Majesty deflects an attack aimed at his throat, rolls to the side of the figure and gives an unexpected forward swing, knocking the figure to the ground and sending the now-cracked masquerade persona sliding along the ground. The figure drops a keyblade to cover his face with one hand, and finally speaks…

"Why do you hasten your demise?", asks the warrior in a frustrated tone. "Your efforts will do nothing more for you than see you off to the flames of Purgatory!" Now much lighter minus the weight of one of the large keyblades, the figure seemingly vanishes and reappears behind the entire army. His keystaff dripping from both ends with blood, every single soldier in the courtyard drops dead simultaneously. Only they; one the King and the figure remain. He turns and speaks again, this time with a calm demeanor. "I'm going to free this planet from sin, and you are obstructing my path most audaciously."

His Majesty only prepares his weapon for another bout and replies; "Free the planet? Just how do you figure that?" He raises his keyblade and lunges at the figure. "_Your_ sins far outweigh any number of ours!" As the two clash, the sky, once dark and heavy with clouds, now turns a brilliant red, and tendrils of violent flames hang from funnels of swirling wind… Flaming hurricanes…tearing into the earth and shaking it to ashes. A great formation of these burning tempests encircles Kingdom hearts and begins to close in, slicing and scorching everything in sight. The King and his assailant pay the destruction no mind as they leap from rock to floating rock, slashing and blocking at each other. The figure lands a decisive blow, dodging an open stab from His Majesty, then knocking him onto a ledge overlooking a sea of swirling fire. The King clutches the ledge for dear life, but the figure approaches and drives his heel into His Majesty's hand, dropping him into the inferno.

There is no scream. The flames do not roar. Somehow, His Majesty survived the fall. Now enraged, the figure gives a feral scream and leaps into the inferno after him. The King, who had managed to land on another ledge, leaps at the figure as he descends, and the two of them are now battling in free-fall. A spinning strike from His Majesty is enough to send the figure tumbling through the air into the eye of the firestorm. His Majesty speeds up his descent to finish off the figure, and everything fades to white as sound becomes silence.

_"We have created. You have destroyed. We have given. You have stolen. We have observed. You have ignored. Just as we have delivered you life, we must now take it back. Just as the wages of sin is death, the consequences of existence are Vergessenheit."_

Where had everything gone?Where had everything _been?_ His Majesty awakens in a vast snowy field; his weapon nowhere in sight, and the figure vanished from both sight and mind. There were bodies; bodies of his soldiers, strewn about the field. He had survived…the planet was not so lucky. Not a trace of Kingdom Hearts remained; not a trace of anything remained. There was only the snow… The snow; and a faint glimpse of Castle Oblivion in the distance…

-To be continued


	3. Castle Oblivion First Episode

Castle Oblivion Side

First Act: With Company Comes Misery

*NOTE: Things are moving along nicely. Today's episode introduces Yoru, a character created by MusicFanGirl, the very first addition to our forum! Thanks and enjoy!

Axion's Journal; Entry #6:

Eleven years. Eleven years since sleep began and dreams ended. Dead? Impossible. My bones ache too much for me to be dead. In these eleven years of existence within the walls of Castle Oblivion, I was told that the Nobodies were the only survivors of the world's destruction…

…Why then, do we have a visitor…?

"Are you still writing in that useless book?" Axel's question calls Axion's attention from the book to the doorway. "It's not useless.", he replies. "I told you, since I can't remember my life_ before _this place, I'll have to preserve my memories of life _inside_ this place." Axel rolls his eyes impatiently and shrugs. "Whatever you say.", he says, then adds: "Hey, did you notice the-"…

"The girl wandering around out in the snow?", asks Axion, closing the journal and storing it on it's own shelf. "She's been out there for quite some time…". They approach the room's nearest window and peer outside. The girl Axion had mentioned had left the imprint she had made lying in the snow, and was now well on her way to the front gate, moving as if the snow posed no challenge at all. Axel starts for the door, then turns slightly to ask: "Do you think we should let her in?". Axion leaves the window and reaches the door before him. "I'll handle it.", he says in reply, and makes his way to the front door.

It had been exactly eleven years since Roxas had found him lying unconscious in the hallway, his keyblade lying faithfully beside him. In that time, he'd discovered his heart, like the other Nobodies, was no more; He became one of them, and they became the family he forgot about when the world ended. With no disturbances from the heartless, Castle Oblivion had fallen comfortably silent…until this morning.

No sooner than Axion places a hand on the door, it flies off the hinges, stunning him. The wanderer from outside rushes in behind it, forces Axion against the nearest wall and presses the pommel of a keyblade against his spine. Unable to make a move without injuring himself, Axion helplessly asks, "Who do you think you are…?" She withdraws suddenly and allows him to turn, only to point the keyblade at him again as he faces front. Axion can now see the keyblade clearly; The handle and guard are black and gunmetal grey. The teeth of the keyblade resemble a broken gear, and the keychain is a full gear, black on the outside, red on the inside.

"I don't think that's any of your business…", was her response. She then went on to ask: "What have you done with Vanitas?". Axion is now fully at attention. "Vanitas?", he asks. "The same Vanitas that used to follow Xehanort?" The girl lowers her weapon slightly. "The very same…", she replies.

Xehanort, in one of his many visits to Castle Oblivion, reminded Axion of his ties to the world outside Castle Oblivion, and the name 'Vanitas had come up several times. From what he'd heard, Vanitas was something of an apprentice to Xehanort, and was also searching for Castle Oblivion.

The girl lowers her weapon completely and folds her arms. "What do you know about Xehanort?", she asks with the glare of a lion that could strike at any moment. Axion had a feeling that the lion would be striking to kill if it didn't hear what it wanted to hear. "All I know about Xehanort", he began. "Is that I hate him…" That was conveniently true. Ever since Xehanort had appeared on the day he arrived in Castle Oblivion, he'd done nothing but cause more confusion and strife than Axion cared to deal with. It felt good to openly admit to hating him. "Then I guess that makes this place allied territory.", replied the girl. Evidently, any enemy of Xehanort was a friend to her. Axion gives a formal nod. "I'm Axion-", he says. "Keyblade wielder, and newest number in the Organization." The girl nods a silent response to his introduction as Roxas enters the main hall. "Is this the girl who was out in the snow?", he asks. Axion nods. "This is…um…-" She had never returned his introduction. "Yoru.", the girl suddenly interjects. "My name is Yoru".

Axion nods again and looks back to Roxas. "She's looking for Xehanort, like us.", he adds. Roxas scratches his head and then turns to Yoru. "Well-", he says. "If you're looking for Xehanort, we could introduce you to the rest of the Nobodies. In a place like this, it's probably best for you to surround yourself with allies." Yoru nods reluctantly. "Fine", she says with a heavy sigh. "If it helps me find Vanitas any faster, I'll join up with the Organization."

As Roxas prepares to speak again, a window high up on the front wall shatters inward, and a black blur comes through and lands in front of them. It's a small black creature with beady yellow eyes and wavy antennae. It makes short, lanky movements toward them, and leaps at them. Yoru takes the initiative and swats the creature into the ground with her keyblade.

Roxas stares at the creature with wide eyes. "It's a shadow.", he says. "One of the heartless we fought before the world was destroyed." Axion makes a great leap to the shattered window and peers through it. "There are hundreds of them outside!", he exclaims, jumping down to rejoin the group and draw his own keyblade. "How did they survive the world's destruction?" Roxas summons his keyblade as well. "Someone must be spawning more of them…", he says as the three of them form a triangle and watch their areas carefully.

Countless shadows climb in through the shattered window and leap at their formation. The three of them fend the shadows off, blocking, swinging and lunging like clockwork. Soon, however, there are far too many shadows in the room to hold off at once, and the trio finds their backs against the door leading to the staircase. "We have to fall back into the castle…", Roxas says calmly as he thrusts his foot into the door to open it. "They're pretty weak, so once we have room to move, we can take them all down no problem. Not to mention all the other Nobodies are inside…" They file into the stairwell and make a mad dash for the second floor hallway. The shadows follow. In the wide hallway, the trio has plenty of room to fight them off. Axion backs away toward at the end of the hall. "Roxas, come on!", he shouts over the sounds of battle. "We have to rally the rest of the organization!" Roxas nods and follows him, looking back at their new ally. Yoru gives them a quick nod, signifying she would be alright by herself, then returns to the battle. A light envelops her weapon and it forms into a scythe the same colors as its keyblade form. As the remaining heartless approach, she divides their numbers, swatting a shadow to the ground, then swinging the tail of the staff into it, sending it reeling into a group of them. She then leaps into the center of them and gives the scythe a deft series of spins, creating a deadly whirlwind of steel that rips through heartless in large numbers and sends them flying apart down both sides of the hallway.

Seeing no more enemies in the hall, Yoru grins with satisfaction and goes after Roxas and Axion. As she leaves the hall and begins to ascend to the third floor, a figure, blackened by the darkness of a cloak appears in the center of the hallway and looks around at the countless bodies of Heartless, but remains silent. The figure then puts a hand to the floor an a glowing insignia begins to take shape. After that, the figure vanishes in a black smoke, just as a massive horn begins to protrude from the ground, just as the insignia is complete…

- To be continued...


	4. Kingdom Hearts First Episode

Kingdom Hearts Side

First Act: First Encounter; A Tale of Ribbon and Marble 

_ The very first Kingdom Hearts Side episode (I can see the reviews already...). Today, the story introduces three new characters:_

_*Drake Blade- A character devised by Theblackbloodwriter of our forum._

_*Alex- A character thought up by my good friend and forum member, Blaze the Flareon. _

_*Raven- A character from the mind of yours truly._

_Enjoy, and feel free to ask questions!_

_-Project 13 _

_Aerith's Diary; Entry #4:_

_~Traverse Town... It's a universal hub for travelers whose worlds have been lost to the void. There are all types here, friendly and otherwise. Already, nine fights have broken out, and all in one district. I suppose I should be thankful that unlike most of these travelers, I'm not here alone...~_

Aerith closes her diary, the pen still inside, then looks over her shoulder from the inn balcony she sits on. Inside the room sits a tall figure with long, dark unkempt hair, face hidden behind a black ceramic mask, with a purple crescent moon painted onto the forehead. The figure sits rigidly in a reed-woven chair, one foot up with his fingers interlocked around his knee. Aerith looks from him, to the untouched cup of tea on the table beside him, then leaves the balcony to return to the room. "When are you going to relax and have yourself some tea?", she asks him, stowing the diary away inside a satchel. The masked figure simply turns his head toward the table, then toward the floor. "Just as soon as we have _time _to relax...", he replies. "You've seen what's happened to Traverse Town, haven't you? It's a wonder we were able to find room and board in this backwater place without-"

"Raven, stop that...", Aerith interrupts. "You're making things sound a lot worse than they really are." She closes the satchel and takes a seat at the table, helping herself to some tea. "Things will get a lot better soon, you'll see." Raven simply pushes his own teacup away and shrugs. "I suppose I'll have to take your word for it.", he says. Aerith gives a nod of complacency and returns to her teacup. It's been years since she'd first found Raven, lying injured and unconscious in the middle of an empty street. She'd taken him in and helped him recover, and he'd insisted upon earning his keep by protecting her from harm. It seemed, however, that no amount of time she spent with him as a companion would ever prepare her for the next gloom-and-doom statement to leave his mouth...

As Aerith finishes her tea and considers convincing Raven to drink his own, there is a sharp, urgent knock on the door. She looks across the table to Raven, who immediately stands and makes a beeline for the door, opening it with subtle force. On the other side is a boy who looks to be about seventeen. He is breathing heavily and hoisting over one shoulder, a keyblade; all white, the edge laden with shimmering claws. He seems to have just recently been in a battle of some sort. "What is this place?", he asks, still breathing heavily. "There was a huge earthquake somewhere in the Pride Lands, and the next thing I know, I'm here, fighting off endless waves of Heartless!" Aerith suddenly turns her full attention to the door.

"Heartless?", she repeats sympathetically. "Here in the second district? How long have they been here?" The boy at the door simply blinks, as if in too much of a hurry to answer such a question. He then turns back to Raven, who still hasn't removed his hand from the doorknob. "I'm going to need some help clearing them out...", he says, looking for empathy, but getting nothing but a cold stare from beneath Raven's mask. "Who are you...?", he asks the boy, all the while turning to search a corner of the room.

"M-my name is Drake...", replied the boy at the door. "Drake Blade. The Heartless couldn't have been in the district for more than a few minutes, and already, they're starting to become a problem... If we don't do something soon, they might-" His sentence is cut off by a gleam of silver in the doorway. Raven is now on his way out of the corner, a scythe secured to his back. dangling from the body of the scythe is a long, tattered purple ribbon. Aerith also stands and disappears into the corner of the room, returning with an elegantly-crafted orichalcum staff. "We'll help.", she says. "The people here have already lost so much..."

Drake leads them to the second district alleyway to find it practically overrun with heartless soldiers and shadows. "Where are they all coming from?", asks Aerith, her voice barely audible over the uproar. "The third district, I think!", was Drake's reply. "The gates leading there won't close, and I don't hear any screaming from that area..." Raven takes a step forward. "Then the third district has presumably gone to Hell...", he mutters, injecting the conversation with another dose of harsh reality. Drake shakes his head in hopeful disagreement. "I don't think that's the case.", he replies, readying his weapon as the Heartless advance. "And the sooner we clear these things out, the sooner I can prove it!" Aerith and Raven watch him engage the crowd of heartless head on, devotedly moving through wave after wave of them. "Well, if nothing else, he's definitely a 'glass half full' kind of guy...", says Raven, hints of admiration in his voice. "Yes.", replies Aerith teasingly. "You could learn a thing or two from him, Raven..." Rolling his eyes acceptingly behind the mask, Raven joins Drake in his crusade through the alleyway, and Aerith follows suit.

In minutes, Aerith and her companion catch up to Drake in the center of the alleyway. The Heartless only seem to be multiplying in number. "We have to form up, or we'll just get flanked out here!", Drake yells, kicking a Heartless soldier away in mid-jump and swatting two more into the side of a near wall with the blunt side of his keyblade. Raven gives a low sweep with his scythe, clearing a wide circle for them to regroup in. The three of them move in unison; one attacking, then shielding the others as they attack successively. As they advance, the Heartless begin to pull back, out of the alleyway and into the open in the square, in front of a fountain overshadowed by the Gizmo Shop's clock-tower. Drake, in a sudden rush, twirls his keyblade, it's attached claws gleaming a brilliant white under the light of a quarter moon. Aerith leads Raven up to the fountain to provide cover as Drake leaps into the remnant group of Heartless, swiping one into a group of several others, ducking below a shadow lunging at him, then using the side of the keyblade to send it off course right into a soldier, and then enters a series of spins, his weapon becoming a bold white spiral, spreading Heartless all over the square. Drake hefts his keyblade over his shoulder, admiring his work as Aerith reaches the Gizmo Shop, and Raven watches his last enemy fade away in the shadow of the clock-tower.

"That was an impressive display, Drake", Aerith calls from the top of the second district's stairwell. "I'm Aerith Gainsborough, and that's my friend and personal guard, Raven." Drake bows respectfully toward Aerith, and then nods wearily to Raven, who returns it with one of his own. "It's a pleasure to meet both of you.", he says. "Thanks for your help back there..." They begin to regroup when a great tremor knocks them off their feet. They look up to see a massive metal frame plummeting toward the square at high speeds. Drake rolls out of the way and leaps onto the stairwell just as the falling object impacts the square and unleashes another great tremor, destroying the fountain and flooding the downstairs area knee-deep with water. The object, silver and purple with a Heartless insignia on its front, begins to open up and expand into the familiar form of a Guard Armor. It stomps about lankily in the destroyed fountain, sending tremor after tremor through the district, bringing down several buildings. Drake readies his keyblade and leaps onto the flooded landing in front of it. "I'll handle this one...", he calls to his new associates. "Maybe you should check the third district for any more Heartless."

"Are you sure you can handle this thing by yourself?", Raven asks, his attention still on the massive Heartless stomping around the square. Drake gives no reply; He simply engages the Guard Armor head on and leaps at it as it notices him. His weapon clashes with its mighty arm and sparks fly as the keyblade's claws scrape against the dense metal of the Heartless' gauntlet. Drake turns and gives an urgent look to Raven, who nods and follows Aerith through the wide gate to the third district. Aerith instinctively turns back to the doorway. There is an extremely loud _CLANG, _and the Guard Armor is thrown against the door, obscuring any glimpse of the second district. "Do you think he'll be alright?", she asks to her masked escort. "Of course he will...", Raven replies. "He came to us asking for help because he knows when he's in over his head. If he says he can handle that thing, I'm willing to bet we'll be seeing him later..." Reassured, Aerith quickens her pace toward the third district.

There are no lights in the third district. No noise. No life. Aerith stands atop the stairwell leading down to street level and stares in horror. Buildings torn apart at the halves; Spotfires barely illuminating the streets, all of which are damp and full of massive footprints; The sky long, thin, looming clouds, given unnatural color by the flames... A thick, acrid smoke fills the air and their vision as they make their way down the stairs and press on through the ravaged pathways to the center of the district. "Could a Heartless have done all this...?", Aerith asks to no one in particular. She wasn't expecting Raven's sudden input. "I don't see how...", came his voice from behind her. "We've only been out here for about an hour, the same time Drake came to us looking for help... It looks like something hit this place _long _before the Heartless did..."

As if on cue, an earsplitting roar shakes the ground beneath them, and they struggle for balance as a burst of bright orange flame erupts from the horizon. Raven quickly takes point in front of Aerith and readies his scythe as a white blur falls toward them with astonishing speed. The blur hits the ground and takes the form of another boy. He clutches a shining white keyblade in his right hand, the edge fashioned into a heart, the tail pointed outward. The chain hanging off the keyblade's pommel is bare. The boy stands and shakes his head dizzily, and Aerith widens her eyes at the sight of him. "Alex?" she exclaims. The boy, recognizes the voice and immediately turns in awe.

"Aerith, is that you?", he answers, breathing heavily. "Don't tell me the Heartless are still spreading..." Alex eyes Raven, then his weapon, and extends a hand in greeting. "Hello there, I'm Alex. And you are-?" Raven examines Alex's hand curiously, then shakes. "Raven...", he answers. "Why are you out here by yourself...?" Alex's expression sours as he turns toward the inner area of the district. "You're about to find out...", he says, slowing his breathing to an inaudible huff. Aerith puts a hand on his shoulder in concern. "Look at you.", she says. "You can barely breathe. You should let Raven and I take care of it..." Alex shakes his head and concentrates a brilliant green light at the edge of his keyblade. The light spirals down the blade and into his hands and immediately, his wounds begin to heal and his breathing begins to normalize. "I'm far from defeated", he says as another tremor rumbles through. Then another. A massive Heartless on all fours with purple skin, jagged teeth and a large black horn on its forehead lumbers into the center. The trio stares up at it in awe.

"It's called a Behemoth, I think...", Alex says to the group. "What it lacks in agility, it more than makes up for in blind rage..." The Behemoth lets out a deafening roar, sending rocks, dust and debris swirling through the center of the district. Alex is the first to attack, lunging forward into a front-arc slash with his keyblade. The beast simply shrugs the attack off and charges him. He blocks and goes skidding backward on his feet. Next comes Raven, leaping high and bringing the scythe's blade down hard on the Behemoth's head. The giant Heartless doesn't react at all to Raven's attack, but the recoil travels through the body of the scythe and into Raven's hands causing him to drop his weapon. The Behemoth acknowledges him, ramming him into a distant wall with its hulking frame. Aerith thrusts her staff into its side, but likewise, she receives no reaction from the beast. It turns and brushes her aside with its head, sending her tumbling away. Raven pries himself from his indentation in the wall and staggers toward his weapon. The Behemoth takes notice and charges him again. This time, Raven prepares himself, planting his feet firmly and holding his hands out, Raven grabs the oncoming Heartless by the fangs. It pushes him a fair distance, but Raven finally shifts his stance backward and, with a strained groan, heaves the massive beast through the air into the side of a building, which gives way and collapses on top of it. Alex stares at Raven in awe. Anything able to hurl something of that size halfway across the district couldn't be human...

The district quiets down. The only sounds to be heard are the rushing of the wind and the debris falling from the recently destroyed building. Alex is the first to speak as they regroup. "That was amazing!", he exclaims as the trio meets in the center of the district. "How did you do that?" Raven retrieves his scythe from the battlefield and folds his arms. "This mask is my greatest weapon of all...", he says in a serious tone. "With it on, there's no guessing who or what I am, or what I'm capable of doing..." Alex gives Raven a look of interest, then turns to Aerith. Before he can open his mouth to speak, the ground shakes again. The Behemoth bursts from the mountain of debris and enters a mad charge right for them, its horn glinting into a concentrated streak of dazzling light from the moon directly overhead. The shining horn immediately catches Aerith's eye, and she turns quickly with her staff.

"Attack the horn!", she calls back to her companions. "If its skin is rock-hard, then that's the only other place we can try!" Alex and Raven both nod in acknowledgment. They scatter as the Behemoth's thunderous assault drags through their formation. They all turn to face the beast as it prepares to charge again. Alex takes point in front of the group, holding his keyblade high in a taunting manner. The Behemoth drags its front left hoof in an angry count, then barrels toward him with unbelievable momentum. Alex gives a sly grin as Raven leaps over his head and grabs the beast by the horn, flipping it onto its back. The Behemoth howls in surprise and struggles to free itself from Raven's grip, but Aerith and Alex attack simultaneously, striking the base of the horn and snapping it right off. Soon after, the Behemoth's struggling begins to slow, and soon it becomes motionless.

"There.", says Aerith after a sigh of relief. "I think that should do it..." Raven kneels beside the Behemoth's head and examines its face. " He prepares to speak, but there is a loud '_CLANG'_, followed by yet another tremor. The Guard Armor from the second district crashes down in a mangled pile, just beside the Behemoth. Drake lands on the Guard Armor's back, his keyblade slung over his shoulder. "You guys were making some terrible noise over here.", he says, stepping down to join them. "Thought I'd see if I could help... But it looks like you've got everything under control." He nods in approval, after glancing over to the dead Behemoth lying in a heap to his left. "It's nice to see you again as well...", Aerith replies half-jokingly. The gizmo shop's bell resounds through the district, and they look up in response. It was officially midnight.

As if it'd been scheduled, just as the bell peals, the ground begins to crack and separate. A ghostly blue light seeps up through the divides, and the entire district begins to crumble away. Without a word, the four travelers gaze briefly at each other before heading for the stairs. The ground in front of them gives way, then the ground behind them. They are now stranded on a thin strip of pavement, stretching from one building to another. Alex turns to Aerith and Drake turns to Raven as their last foothold begins to degenerate. There's no time to scream. There's no time to think. Everything fades to blue in the blink of an eye, and the bell peals one last time before a massive silhouette begins to rise from the fissure...

It was officially one after midnight when Traverse Town went to Hell...

-To Be Continued...


	5. Castle Oblivion Second Episode

Castle Oblivion Side

Second Act: 

The next door is open! Today's episode introduces:

*Irocu Shans - Another character from our forum's very own, theblackbloodwriter.

*Valla - A character created by our most recent forum member, Katana001

*Shadow - Another character presented by our forum's third member, Blaze the Flareon.

*Artemecia Lawliet - Another character thought up by Yours Truly.

Enjoy!

Mistress would not meet this news with much enthusiasm, that was certain. A lone, pale, shivering man makes his way through an endless sea of winter emptiness, eyes half shut and gently frosted over. The snow rises up to his knees and his breath, now escaping in a thin mist from his frostbitten nose, was beginning to slow until breathing became almost voluntary. He squints anxiously ahead of him and catches a glimpse of the familiar, a black bird, resting on the arm of a figure whose features are too obscured by the swirling snow to be seen clearly from far away. Fueled by nothing more than strong cowardice, he wills his way through the snow toward the figure and the crow.

"I-I've exhausted every possible trail...", he begins, once he nears the figure. "...But it all points to one inevitability, and I'm sure you won't like it..." The figure, a woman with coal black hair and harsh, piercing sapphire eyes meets his fearful expression with an apathetic sigh. "Well then, let's hear it.", she says to her subordinate. "And pray I don't find you boring..." The man sheepishly flips through a small notepad and kneels to give his report. "A-according to what I've seen...", he stammers, the frost in the air paling in comparison to the unforgiving chill in this woman's expression. "There's no trace of Balamb, or any other place on any other map in the -there's only one structure to be seen amidst the snow, and it's C-Castle oblivion..." The woman raises an eyebrow in interest and shifts her attention to the crow resting faithfully on her right arm, a tiny, silver bell tied around its neck. "Castle Oblivion, you say...?", she asks, never once breaking her focus on her pet. "Then the world is different than what we knew it as... If the world is still in existence at all, that is..."

The skittish man stands and bows deeply. "Then, you anticipated this...?", he asks, feeling collected enough to continue scribbling in his notepad. The woman simply nods and laughs against the harsh frozen wind. "Anticipated the void opening up and dragging us all to Hell? It's been a vivid dream of mine for quite some time now...", she replied. "First, God breaks us all. Then, he watches us rebuild in this awful place and prepare to break _each other_... The '_grand design'_; that's what the archfiends called it." The snow continues to fall as she takes a step toward her subordinate and widens her smile, bearing a set of remarkable fangs. "Unfortunately...", she says, biting her lip in anticipation. "You've officially outlived your usefulness..."

The subordinate opens his eyes wide at her last statement. "Outlived my usefulness?", he exclaims, taking a step backward. "But you said you'd spare me if I gathered information for you!" The woman shakes her head in disagreement. "I told you that I wouldn't lay a finger on you. Those were my exact words...", she says, her free arm drawing back to unholster a strangely-crafted orichalcum handgun from beneath the waist of her crimson trench coat. She trains her weapon on his heart and steadies her hand. "And this way, I'm honoring my word, am I not...?" The iron bat's head built onto the barrel of the gun spits out a black round that explodes in a cloud of darkness, which subsides as the woman's target drops to the ground, clutching meaninglessly at the empty gap where he could no longer feel the beating of his heart. The fusileer holsters her weapon and grins. "Five down, one more to go..."

"That's quite a weapon you've got there...", comes an echoing voice through the freezing wind. The woman turns about in place, unable to trace the sound. Suddenly, the wind around her intensifies as a tree beside her falls and shakes the ground with incredible force. She examines the fallen half of the tree and discovers a set of incredibly deep claw marks. A final turn, and she finds herself face to face with a grinning man with long claws and a maddened, piercing stare. "You said something about having one more to go...", the clawed figure begins. "What exactly were you talking about...?" The woman flashes a grin of her own and draws her handgun once again. "I was referring to my quota...", she says. "I've killed five sinners today, and I only need to kill one more before I can rest easy. I believe you'll do nicely..." She lunges for him and fires. The stranger simply extends the claw of his index finger and dashes by, stopping immediately behind her. The woman looks back as a cut begins to open up on her left cheek. The stranger turns back and folds his arms in satisfaction. "Irocu is the name...", he says, licking the blood from his index finger. "And, not that it matters now, but who might you be...?" Irocu suddenly grimaces as a bullet-wound suddenly burns in his left shoulder. The woman looks back halfway and folds her arms as well. "Artemecia...", she replies. "A pleasure to meet you."

Artemecia quickly fires a shot into the ground, releasing an acrid cloud of dark smoke. Using the smoke as camouflage, she fires in Irocu's direction. Instead of hearing the oh-so-satisfying sound of a bullet hitting its mark, she only hears her shots shatter air as they exit the cloud and fly astray of their target. The wind intensifies around her, and she draws another handgun (gold, with a dented up silver cross hanging from the barrel) to parry away a claw attack from behind. Another claw attack comes in from above, and she uses the orichalcum gun to block, immediately following it up with a shot from the golden firearm, resulting in a burst of electricity that sends them both flying out of the smoke cloud and into the open snow.

Irocu moves first this time, leaping high into the air with a short laugh of amusement and bringing his claws together for a cross-attack. Artemecia puts her weapons together in a defensive stance and guards, but is thrown back by the sheer force of Irocu's landing. While she is disoriented, he attacks again, making several swipes while moving at angles. Artemecia, with no time to regain her balance, simply fires a dark shot over her shoulder and rolls backward into the cloud of smoke in order to cover her fall. She then bursts out of the cloud, furiously unloading with both handguns. Lightning and smoke fill the air as they charge each other. Suddenly, a massive flash of steel is driven into the ground, shaking the earth and forcing both of them to guard until the tremor is over. When the frost and smoke begin to clear, they regroup and look up to see a figure standing atop a massive, steel-clad, axe-wielding Heartless. The Heartless pulls its steel weapon from the ground as the figure leaps to the ground below. He bears a keyblade, black at the blade, pommel and edge with red thorns interwinding in a circle around the hilt. The Heartless insignia hangs from a chain at the pommel. "That's quite enough...", says the figure.

Irocu growls at the newcomer, baring his sharpened teeth at him, his claws at full length. "Nobody interrupts my fun!", he shouts. "Who the Hell do you think you are? Coming between me and my prey like that?" The figure folds his arms and scoffs. "I was hoping I wouldn't have to step in...", he says, the Heartless behind him standing at ease. "But if you two go and kill each other, what use are you to me...?" Artemecia turns her full attention to him, and scowls. "Use?", she repeats angrily. "What makes you think you can just use us like that?" The figure holds his keyblade at the ready and motions for the two of them to attack. Artemecia and Irocu glance at each other briefly, then charge in unison. The newcomer blocks a swipe from Irocu and sends a torrent of shadow into Artemecia, sending her sliding backward in defense, then brings his keyblade around to Irocu, who ducks beneath it. The two clash for quite some time, giving Artemecia ample opportunity to take aim and let off a fusillade from both handguns. The stranger sees this while defending, and raises a wall of shadow, separating him from the blast. When the wall vanishes, the keyblade-wielder is nowhere to be found. Irocu and Artemecia regroup and stand back to back. Suddenly, the area becomes shrouded in darkness. The two look up to see the axe-toting Heartless, now airborne, bringing his weapon down hard over their heads, the stranger standing poised on its shoulder. Just before the axe makes contact with the ground, an explosion of light shatters the Heartless and scatters the three for yards across the snow.

"What...?", exclaims the stranger as he stands and clutches his weapon tightly. "He's here earlier than I anticipated..." The three of them look up to see an entity, human in shape, but surrounded by a searing light. He is dressed in all white with long silver hair and bright golden eyes. Upon his descent, he looks from Irocu, to Artemecia, to the keyblade-wielder. "Look at you all...", he says, approaching them at a quick pace. "Irocu...no amount of blood you spill will ever be justified by insanity..." He turns again to Artemecia. "Artemecia...", he says with a stern face. "You kill those who sin, but have no awareness of you own sins at all..." Finally, he turns to the keyblade-wielder. "And _you_, Shadow..." He stops and glares, his bright eyes narrowed in contempt. "What have you done...?"

"Valla, your sense of timing is worse than I could've hoped for...", Shadow says, turning his back on him to gaze at Castle Oblivion in the distance. "And I'm afraid you're far beyond your boundaries inside the void... You've no jurisdiction here..." Valla frowns at him and clenches a fist. "True, my powers may not be what they should in this Godforsaken place...", he begins. "But don't doubt for a second that I could still put all of you in your place..." Shadow lets out a sinister laugh and turns to face Valla. "Is that so...?", he asks. "Then show me... Show _all_ of us." Artemecia and Irocu both stand, deciding this new enemy would take their combined effort to to take down. "You seem to know us well enough...", Irocu says, his hands twitching uncontrollably; his claws grinding together igniting small sparks in the cold air. "It's too bad you'll have to be taking all that information of yours to the grave ahead of your time..." Valla holds a hand out to his side, and a gold and silver bo-staff appears. He holds the staff lightly and stands ready in the middle of his three adversaries.

Artemecia attacks first, sliding through the snow and firing repeatedly. Irocu leaps into the fray and adds his own mad rush to the effort. Shadow remains still, watching them intently. Valla shifts his weight to one side, dodging a swipe from Irocu and forcing him away with a two-handed swing, then raises a streak of light to dissolve the dark cloud produced by Artemecia's onslaught. Artemecia prepares to fire another shot, but is suddenly blinded by an explosion of light, and sent tumbling along the ground by a horizontal swipe. Shadow finally makes his move, raising a behemoth from a large shadow on the ground and leaping atop its back. The behemoth enters a furious charge at Valla, who hurls his staff at Shadow and begins to grapple with the massive Heartless. The staff gains a life of its own, and begins to spin and maneuver around Shadow, clashing with his keyblade. Shadow leaps from the Behemoth as Valla begins to gain the upper hand. He claps his hands together and the Heartless explodes outward, sending snow and scalding hot air spiraling around the area. When the explosion subsides, Valla is nowhere in sight. Only his staff remains, impaled into the snow...

Irocu scoffs at the spectacle. "It's a shame, actually...", he says, kicking at the snow. "I wanted to deliver the killing blow..." Shadow tightens his grip on his keyblade. "Well, Irocu, here's your chance...", he mutters. Before Irocu could ask him what he meant, The staff, glows with a brilliant light, and sends a shockwave along the ground, melting the snow in the immediate area. The trio leaps over the shockwave as Valla drops from the sky and pulls his staff from the ground. Artemecia gets an idea and makes brief eye contact with Irocu, who charges forward with his claws, dipping them into the puddle of melted snow. Artemecia fires a round from the golden firearm, electrifying the trail of water. Irocu arrives directly in front of Valla and prepares his claws for a powerful slash. The electricity reaches his claws just before he unloads, turning the vicious attack into an overcharged electrical blow, the lightning syncing up with the slash to send Valla flipping backward, clutching his chest. Shadow takes the opportunity to charge. He raises his keyblade high and strikes, but Valla, still lying on his back, kicks the blade away and springs to his feet. While Shadow is off balance, he creates a small blade of light and impales him with it in the heart. Shadow simply laughs as he drops to his knees. Valla, breathing heavily, leans on his staff for support. "What's so funny...?", he asks. Shadow says nothing. He simply waves a hand and watches as Irocu and Artemecia vanish into their own shadows in the snow. Finally, Shadow fades away into thin air, and all is quiet.

Valla pounds the ground with his fist. "Damn that Shadow...!", he yells. "He wouldn't even come here and fight me in person!" He stands straight and looks over to Castle Oblivion out on the horizon. Shadow had been there all along, controlling a puppet of himself he created... To make matters worse, that puppet managed to get away with Irocu and Artemecia before it faded to nothing. But he couldn't go after them now... Even for him, entering Castle Oblivion alone was suicide. He'd need to make a point to visit Traverse Town and begin seeking help...

Xehanort...

Shadow...

Just what was Kingdom Hearts facing here...?

-To be continue


	6. Kingdom Hearts Second Episode

Kingdom Hearts Second Act: Judgment

* The plot thickens as we delve into the beginning of the war. Introduced in today's chapter are:

*Xittan - A character from the mind of Blaze the Flareon

* Xavier Goodwright - A character thought up by Katana001

*Salem Cross & Elena Geist-Kind - A duo created by Yours Truly

*Lucian Lamperouge - Another character by Yours Truly.

And now, on with the show...

Traverse Town is entirely overrun with Heartless. Shadows flood the streets, and Gargoyles take wing in pursuit of fleeing civilians. Valla stands atop the Gizmo Shop's roof and shakes his head despairingly. This had been going on for a good few hours, and he was making very little progress in finding recruits for the faction because of all the Heartless attacks. So far, he'd only been through the first and second districts, and already he was sure that there wasn't a single heroic force left on the planet. Suddenly, an explosion rattles the nearby area, and a great pillar of thick smoke begins to rise above the center of the sea of ground-based Heartless. Valla raises a curious eyebrow and slinks across the town rooftops right to the source.

Valla lands at the upper crease of the fountain and watches as a duo attacks the invading Heartless relentlessly; one with an elegantly-crafted pistol, and the other with a slew of strange projectiles (which he could've sworn looked like playing cards). The gunslinger carries a somewhat scholarly appearance, with an old well-kept English uniform, a rough blonde ponytail and a researcher's satchel hanging at his side, a slightly worn notebook protruding from it. He turns about after reloading his weapon with astonishing grace and fires a single round, piercing through four Heartless at once. He then leaps backward and fires another lone shot at the ground, allowing himself an amused chuckle while he watches the round ricochet around the district, putting down any Heartless in its path. The scholar then takes cover with a sly grin as a hail of playing cards comes raining down at an angle from the opposite rooftop. Valla turns his attention to the other combatant on the rooftop. This one is a more rugged character with shoulder-length red hair, a long black noble coat with no shirt underneath, black dress pants and formal shoes. He gives a bored roll of the eyes as he snaps his fingers and the recently-fallen playing cards explode in a brilliant torrent of fire.

The flames induced by the explosion emit a dull roar. Other than this droning sound, all is silent. The two companions regroup in the middle of the street and talk incomprehensibly. Valla ultimately decides that these newcomers would be just what Kingdom Hearts needed, and descends gently down into the street and approaches them. "Well now-", he says. "That was quite something. What would you say to putting those skills to use for a good cause?" The scholar is the first to acknowledge him. "Hey, Salem...", he says, tapping his friend on the shoulder, holstering his weapon. "I Think he's talking to us..." The red-haired figure turns to Valla with his hands in his pockets and nods. "Well, 'afternoon, friend...", he says through the hair looming over his face. "The name's Salem Cross, and this is my good friend and unofficial advisor, Xavier Goodwright." Xavier bows at his introduction, then adjusts the strap of the satchel at his waist. "You said something about a good cause...", he repeats. "What cause did you have in mind exactly?"

Before Valla can explain, a small orb of pale blue light appears above Salem, and it soon takes the form of a ghostly child with gray skin, white hair, red eyes and a black formal dress. She takes a seat on Salem's shoulder. "You got into another fight, didn't you?", she asks her carrier earnestly. Salem simply nods and changes the subject. "So, what's the word, Elena?", he asks. "Anyone in town know about this Keyblade Xehanort's looking for?" Upon hearing Salem utter Xehanort's name, his hopes of recruiting the duo sinks hopelessly. Elena shakes her head, then answers. "Not a thing.", she says. "Not that there were many left in town anyway..." Xavier quickly draws his notebook and begins writing furiously with a pen he'd kept hidden behind his ear. "Excuse me...", Valla interjects. "But might you be working for Xehanort?" Salem nods again. "Let's get this straight, friend-", he says, his playful expression becoming a deathly serious one. "I don't work for the likes of him by choice. Once I recover my heart, I can kiss Castle Oblivion goodbye... That's my motive."

Valla raises a curious eyebrow, but remains politely silent. A sudden burst of violent flame erupts from the next street. The group looks toward the towering blaze and ultimately moves as one unit to the source. They arrive in time to witness a massive creature claw its way to the surface of the street. The creature is black as night, with stars visible within the darkness. Its eyes-all six of them- are a shining white, and its four gargantuan arms convulse in unison. The entire beast twitches with what seems to be anticipation as two figures stand on a rooftop, prepared to attack it. Valla diverts his attention to the rooftop and tries to get a good look at the beast's assailants, but they are simply too far away. "Come on...", he says to his new companions. "We'll have to get a closer look."

Upon seeing the gargantuan visitor at close range, Valla becomes pensive, Xavier and Elena become weary, and Salem becomes excited. The pair of figures watching the creature from the rooftop can be seen clearly now. The first is a feminine figure, clad in what Valla instantly recognizes as the hooded cloak of a Nobody. She wields a long chain, one end of it wrapped tightly around her wrist, and the other end tipped by four edges, forming a circular blade. The chain itself is a series of linking metal hearts. The second figure is dressed in a noble jacket, black with fur surrounding the collar and sleeves. A silver pocketwatch hangs from his neck. Hoisted over his shoulder is a sword with a long handle and a massive blade. The weapon's hilt is wrapped in a deep red gauze, and leads into the guard: a pair of metallic black wings. The blade itself is also black. Xavier's voice returns Valla to the matter at hand.

"Look at that thing...", Xavier calls to the group, finally putting away his notebook and pen. "Its build isn't like anything we've come across before, and the fact that space is visible on in its skin suggests that it doesn't even exist on a structural scale!" Salem simply rolls his eyes and taps his foot impatiently. "In English, please!", he retorts loudly. "It's not a Heartless...", Xavier begins after a long sigh. "...and if you can look into it and see things like stars, then technically, it shouldn't exist..." Elena tilts her head in obvious confusion. "So, it's... Nothing?", she asked. Xavier nods and bites his lip. "And if it really is Nothing-", he says, not even bothering to reach for his weapon. "Then nothing we could ever hit it with would have any effect..."

The duo on the rooftop, who'd until now been staring the beast down, finally make their move. They charge in unison, and before the group at street-level has time to blink, the creature drops dead and fades into mist before completely vanishing from sight. The attackers then approach Valla and company, who draw their weapons instinctively. The Swordsman with the pocketwatch is the first to speak. "Hey, easy there...", hea says, sheathing his weapon on his back, his companion following suit. "We're only hunting down those things. You've got nothing to worry about." Valla extends a hand to the Swordsman. "My name is Valla.", he says as Salem and Xavier put away their weapons. The Swordsman maintains eye-contact with his greeter and shakes hands with enthusiasm. "I'm Lucian.", he replies. "Lucian Lamperouge." The woman in the Nobodies cloak speaks next. "My name's Xittan.", she says, with an energetic wave. "Who are you guys?" Xavier introduces himself, followed by Salem, then Elena. The amalgamation of the two groups starts toward the center of the district as they share information.

"Wait a minute...", Xavier says, halting the group. "That...thing that Lucian and Xittan brought down should've been pure, absolute Nothing, right? How were they even able to touch it?" Lucian and Xittan turn to face the rest of the group and give their responses in turn. Lucian closes his eyes and concentrates. Suddenly, the roaring of the flames engulfing the district stops. In fact, the flames themselves stop, frozen in place, as if someone had paused the world. "I can manipulate the flow of time...", Lucian says as he breaks his own concentration and time returns to normal. "Conveniently, that allows me to step outside of time and temporarily become Nothing." Xittan holds a hand out to her side and a torrent of dark energy encircles her arm and forms a small orb in the palm of her hand. "Being a Nobody-", she says as she dispels the energy. "-I have a command over the same kind of energy that brought that thing to life. Any more questions?" Valla opens his mouth to speak, but a cloud of black energy suddenly tears through a row of buildings, felling them all and forcing the group to take cover in an alleyway. Valla raises a barrier of light to seal off the alley entrance and shield them from debris. As Valla concentrates on strengthening the barrier, Lucian unsheathes his blade and looks about to provide cover.

Buildings fall as stormclouds, countless in number, begin to form and circle the area. Lightning flashes giving an ominously pale tint to the immediate area. Fires spontaneously ignite. Blistering winds twist the atmosphere. Dishearteningly dark coils of energy split the ground. Any light being let off by the setting sun was now completely swallowed by the dismal maw of the storm. The violent tremors and successive explosions were telltale signs that this world, like the others that went before it, was revolving on borrowed time...

"What's happening?", Elena shouts over the cacophony of madness surrounding them. "The world is reacting to the presence of those creatures we've been chasing!", Lucian says, focusing hard to slow time around them, but failing. "Traverse Town is literally tearing itself apart!" There seem to be holes in the sky itself; winged creatures spilling from them, bearing the same kind of night-sky skin as the creature of Nothing that Lucian and Xittan defeated. other creatures of the same ilk rise from the ground and emerge from the sides of the few buildings still standing. They destroy aimlessly, ripping remorselessly through anything that the storms and atmospheric chaos might have missed. Lucian watches helplessly with a tortured frown as these creatures lay eyes upon the district's clocktower. "If we're going to do something we should do it now...", he says, his voice seeming drained of any and all hope. "Otherwise, we'll just up and die with the planet." Salem folds his arms and scoffs in defeat. "We'd better head back to Castle Oblivion, then...", he says. "I can't very well enjoy freedom if I'm dead..." With that, Salem, Xavier and Elena all nod their goodbyes to Valla, Lucian and Xittan, then simultaneously vanish as Salem tosses a glowing card into the air.

Xittan stares out at the destruction through Valla's barrier. Valla turns slightly, somewhat amazed to see she hasn't left. "Aren't you going back to Castle Oblivion as well...?", he asks in as polite a voice as he could manage. "You did say you were a Nobody, right?" Xittan takes a while to respond, and even when she does, she keeps her focus on the chaos outside of their alleyway sanctuary. "That much is true.", she says, looking more curious than afraid. "But I value freedom too much to stay at Castle Oblivion. And I'll never get my heart back if I stay there, so wherever you and Lucian decide to go, I 'll gladly tag along." Valla cracks a hopeful grin at these words. "I'm glad to hear that...", he replies. "Because I was wondering if the two of you would be willing to join the ranks of Kingdom Hearts. Lucian raises an eyebrow. "Kingdom Hearts?", he inquires. "If Kingdom Hearts was somehow pushed back into play, then there must be something going on involving them and Castle Oblivion, right...?" Valla nods with a grim narrowing of the eyes. "Exactly.", he says. "I fear that 'something' could, in fact, be a war..." Lucian examines the pocketwatch hanging around his neck and then clutches it in a shaking fist. "War against Castle Oblivion?", he asks coldly, not at all looking for an answer. "Well then, count us in..." Valla releases the light barrier and whisks them all off the planet in a blinding flash. An endless rain of fire and debris crushes their former sanctuary, and the Nothing creatures swarm the area, sweeping for any signs of life. High above the chaos, standing atop the ruins of the clocktower stands the very figure who'd attacked Kingdom Hearts and sent the king to the void. He touches his mask gingerly and idly twirls his keystaff. "The hub has become nothing...", he says to himself, the faintest tones of amusement present in his voice.

"Judgment has been passed... And it seems not a single one of you deserved our pardon..."


	7. Castle Oblivion Third Episode

Castle Oblivion Third Act: Crossing of the Revenge-Seekers

*The war finally begins! Today's episode introduces:

*Jin - A character thought up by Katana001.

* Shara Night - A character from the mind of Theblackbloodwriter

-Enjoy!

Snow continues to fall mercilessly upon the grounds and structures of Castle Oblivion. Inside, Those whose hearts have fallen to darkness converse of the war to come. A large gathering begins to form in the main hall, starting with Axion, Salem, Elena, Xavier and Irocu. "I'm afraid I'm a bit new here...", Salem says with bored indirection. "Someone mind explainin' this whole process?" Irocu shrugs apathetically. "Why don't you just ask Shadow...?", he retorts. "He's the one who organized this little meeting..." Roxas enters the hall, shortly followed by Axel, Luxord and Artemecia; none of them seeming remotely pleased. "Where does Shadow get off?", Axel exclaims with arms folded and eyebrow raised. "Who is _he_ to call us to some stupid meeting?" Roxas rolls his eyes and leans against the nearest wall. "Doesn't matter...", he replies. "The more people that show up here, the less authority the rest of us seem to have..." Axion releases a rigid sigh and folds his arms as well. "The only one exempt from this thing is Yoru, and she's never around for too long at a time anyway.", he says. Luxord eyes Salem, then the pouch of playing cards at Salem's waist. "Hey, lucky!", he calls out with a grin. "Up for a quick game?" Salem grins and unholsters his cards. "Fine by me, friend...", he says with a grin of his own. "But don't blame me if you lose out big..."

"The gambling will have to wait", came a voice from the doorway. Salem and Luxord immediately snap to attention as Shadow walks by, not sparing them a single glance. "We have more important matters at present..." Everyone turns their attention to Shadow as he stops in the center of the hall and turns his back to the group, facing the front door. "It would seem the war is beginning ahead of schedule, as I planned...", he says with a slight tone of boredom. "That gives us the advantage in finding the Dark Keyblade..." Artemecia takes a step forward. "This Dark Keyblade we've been hearing so much about...", she interjects. "What exactly _is _it...?" Shadow finally turns to the group, his voice intensifying. "Long ago, during the first Keyblade War...", he begins, his arms spread to emphasize the span of time between then and now. "Two Keyblades were created by beings who watch over human life. To balance and eventually quell the conflict of the ancient Keyblade wielders, they forged and bestowed upon the universe these Keyblades; one of light and one of darkness. The Light Keyblade, christened 'Manus Deius', is the target of Kingdom Hearts at this very moment. Should they find it, then our only option is to find the Dark Keyblade, 'Mano del Diablo', and engage the wielder of the Light Keyblade in a struggle for supremacy..." Xavier adjusts the satchel at his side and begins taking notes. "Why do we have to get involved with the Light Keyblade at all?", he asks in between pen strokes. "I thought the Dark Keyblade was our target.

Shadow materializes his own Keyblade and examines it purposefully. "The two Keyblades our separate factions seek are linked...", he says. "They have the thaumaturgical power to grant any wish their wielders hold within their hearts, but only as long as one exists. Once we obtain the Dark Keyblade, its true power will only awaken if we use it to destroy the Light Keyblade. In obverse, should Kingdom Hearts acquire the Light Keyblade, they must but destroy the Dark Keyblade with it in order to have its wielder's wish granted. That is why time is of the essence..." Salem makes his way to Xavier's side and buries his hands in his pockets. "What did you mean when you said you _planned_ for the war to start early?" Shadow once again turns his back to the group, this time slowly making his way outside. "That is none of your concern, and I'll thank you to stay in your place...", he replies. "What did you just say?", Salem barks, his hands tightened into solid fists. Xavier puts a hand on Salem's shoulder, his expression pleading him not to do anything irrational, but Salem simply shrugs his hand away and makes a beeline right for Shadow, who simply points his keyblade over his shoulder at his attacker. Instantly, Salem's eyes shift to black and a dark aura emanates from his body as he doubles over in pain and squirms back to the group, gasping for air. Xavier helps Salem to his feet, and the group watches Shadow leave, making sure he is no longer present before speaking.

"Maybe you'll take my advice next time, eh, Salem?", Xavier asks with narrow eyes and a half smile. Salem simply looks over to his companion, breathing heavily and parting hair from his face. "I could've...taken...him...", he says in between breaths. Axion taps his foot impatiently and quite suddenly makes his way to the front door, Keyblade in hand. "I'm not afraid of Shadow...", he says in a careless tone. "And if the war's already underway, I intend to get out there and figure out what the hell's going on... Anyone with me?" Irocu spasms his neck with a devious chuckle and joins Axion at the door. "If it means a chance to knock a few skulls together...", he says, throwing his arm around Axion's shoulders. "I say let the good times roll!" Artemecia brandishes both her handguns from her coat and joins the two of them in the doorway. "I've got a quota to fill...", she says. "So you'll have to make room for one more." Xavier sighs deeply and scratches his head. "As much as we'd love to join you...", he says, picking up Elena. "Elena, Salem and I are preoccupied. Apparently, Xehanort wants us to do some digging. We're to find out all we can about the old Keyblade War, and report back to him with anything interesting."

The trio of Axion, Irocu and Artemecia exits into the snowy wasteland outside Castle Oblivion. In the distance, visible from any angle, is one massive plume of smoke, spiraling into the air as several explosions come rolling down the far away hills. Small avalanches occur in rapid succession, sending wild torrents of white icy mist roaring across the open space. The three follow the dark plume to a a steep cliff, at the bottom of which, rages a battle in full swing. Two figures are locked in combat with Lucian, Xittan and Drake . The forward figure, male, combats Xittan's energy-projected attacks with his own unique series of spells. Xittan releases a beam of pure Nothing, and the stranger answers with a surging blast of white-hot flame. The two attacks collide and spark a flash so bright that all combatants cease their activity to shield their eyes. When the blinding light subsides, Only Lucian, Drake and the other figure remain on the ground below. Xittan and the male figure are now darting about the sky, hurling wave after wave and blast at each other. Lucian nods to Drake, who charges ahead at the female figure, who brandishes a staff and parries away Drake's first attack. The two clash for lingering minutes as the harsh wind tosses snow about them. In a concisely-timed blur, Drake grins as he reaches to the ground with his free hand to grab a fistful of snow, then tosses it into the air. "There!", he yells. "Lucian, now it's your turn!" The female raises her arm to her face to block the snow, and Lucian comes leaping through it, giant sword gripped tightly in both hands. He gives a mighty downward swing, his weapon howling against the frozen wind, aimed right for the staff-wielding figure. However, she regains her vision just in time and holds her staff at a firm horizontal to block the blow. Though she avoids taking damage, the force of the impact sends her sliding backward on her feet. Drake takes the opportunity to dash forward and close the distance between him and his target, his keyblade dragging behind him along the ground, kicking up a brilliant mix of snow and sparks. The figure plants her staff firmly in the snow and uses it as a support as she vaults backward and blocks Drake' s incoming skyward slash.

Meanwhile, in the air above, Xittan and the male figure zip competitively from one place to another. Xittan lands one successful blow; a sudden and unexpected flare of energy, sending the male figure careening into the side of the cliff, creating a small crater. Xittan moves to finish off her downed opponent, but an abrupt shotgun-blast of lightning flares from the crater, sending her flipping backward and crackling with static. She stabilizes herself after much effort to find the crater is now empty. A telltale burst of air above her causes her to look up, where she finds the figure, falling with unholy speed, a blade of pure fire emanating from his left fist and another of pure lightning emanating from his right. He puts them together in a deadly cross and increases his descent speed, but Xittan covers one hand in energy and surrounds herself in a sphere of protective space. The figure's blades vanish on impact, and the two begin to clash with energy-covered fists and feet. A well-placed somersault kick sends Xittan twisting to the ground below. The figure follows and lands gently beside his partner, surrounding them both in a ring of flames as Lucian and Drake prepare to advance.

"Who are those two...?", Axion puzzles out loud. "Their hearts are just as dark as ours..." He sighs and cranes his head over to Irocu. "Well, _most_ of ours anyway..." Irocu bows his head, apparently taking Axion's last remark as a compliment. Artemecia simply tightens her grip on her weapons. "Whoever they are...", she begins, the slightest signs of excitement curving her lips. "If they're with Castle Oblivion, then they'll need some help, won't they? Besides, all this standing on the sidelines and watching isn't getting us anywhere..." Axion rubs his chin and glances skyward. "I don't know...", he says. "This could be more trouble than it's worth... What do you think, Irocu...?" He waits several minutes for a reply before turning to Irocu's position, only to discover him gone. He and Artemecia look down to find Irocu, already sliding down the side of the cliff with his claws dug deeply into the rock; letting out a chilling laugh all the way down. Artemecia shrugs to Axion, who simply rolls his eyes. The two of them leap over the side of the cliff after Irocu, weapons drawn. Picking their targets straight away, Artemecia comes to the aid of the female figure, diving at Lucian, separating him from Drake. Axion and Irocu stand back to back with Axion facing Drake and Irocu backing up Artemecia. Xittan rejoins the group, weapon drawn. "You don't have a prayer now!", Irocu jeers, his claws trembling in anticipation. "It's five-on three, and the longer you keep me waiting, the worse your odds will get!"

The male figure drops his wall of flame and steps through. "The name's Jin.", he says through eyes that crave destruction. "I want you to remember that name after I blast the lot of you to Hell!" He looks back to the female figure and gestures to their enemies. "Shara, go on and get in their heads a little..." She steps forward and squints at Lucian. "Hmm..." She leans on her weapon pensively. "This one's got definite daddy issues. Hmph, don't tell me that's why you're here. Couldn't wait to see your old man?" Her grin deepens. "You want to _kill him_, don't you? See the surprise on his face as you stand over him, weapon in hand to strike him down...? Well, let me tell you something... You can't. The only thing in your future is eternal sleep. You'll break down and drop dead before you even lay eyes upon him, I guarantee it!" Drake nears Lucian and spans an arm out in front of him in an attempt to hold him back. "Don't listen to her.", he says. "Focus on this fight for now." Lucian glares at Shara and tries in a rush of blazing rage to silence her, but Artemecia steps into his path and opens fire with both weapons. Forcing himself to calm down, he uses his sword as cover to take the gunshots and makes his way to Artemecia. The two swing in unison, his blade catching the steel of her orichalcum handgun. She gives a short laugh and begins to exert force on the blade, pushing him back. Surprised by her strength, Lucian pushes back and the two break away.

Xittan twirls the chain of her weapon, and glares at Jin, daring him to attack. He audaciously does so, covering both hands in dark energy and charging with blistering speed. Xittan brings her arm around full circle and the end head of the chain comes ripping through the cliffside at her attacker. "Let's see if your hands are as quick as your mouth!", she says tauntingly. Utilizing the energy surrounding his hands, Jin holds one hand to his side and repels the weapon. Behind him, Drake performs a rolling slash in Jin's direction, but is forced into a block as Jin dodges and swipes at him with his other hand. Xittan projects energy along the chain and brings it around for another attempt at Jin. Being distracted with Drake, Jin fails to notice in time and is sent tumbling backward by the impact. Drake leaps into the air and prepares to finish Jin, but Irocu appears above him and sends him skidding through the snow with a straight-kick, giving Jin time to stand and return to Xittan. Axion charges Drake, Keyblade held in attack position, but suddenly finds himselfself immoble, frozen in place. Artemecia looks over to Lucian, who is concentrating deeply on Axion, stopping time in his small area of space. She smiles with interest and takes aim at Lucian, breaking his concentration. "Everybody back!", she yells dominantly, training both guns on Lucian. "If anyone takes _this one _down, it's gonna be me!" Irocu chuckles after blocking an attack from Drake. "Found yourself an object of interest, have you?", he asks bluntly.

Lucian rolls his eyes at Irocu's words. "Interest _this!"_, he yells, bringing his blade around for a horizontal attack at Artemecia, who ducks beneath it and prepares another shot. Axion leaps onto and then off of Lucian's blade in mid-swing and brings his keyblade down on Xittan, who turns away from Jin to block the attack and retaliate with a back kick, followed by a bolt of energy, sending Axion flying backward into a snowbank. Irocu drags his claws along the ground and gives a whole-bodied uppercut to Drake, who catches his balance in midair and points the edge of his keyblade toward Xittan, who charges it with a shot of Nothing energy. Drake swings the charged Keyblade in a vertical arc, sending a huge crescent wave through the air, flinging Irocu and Axion into the side of the cliff. Her immediate attention now free, Xittan quickly looks around. "Wait a minute...", she says at the end of her inspection. "Weren't there five of you...? Someone explain why we've only been fighting three of you this whole time...?" As if rehearsed, Jin appears in the air above the group, hands engulfed in bright red flames. He unleashes a downpour of fire upon a seemingly empty spot on the ground below. Suddenly, Shara appears directly below the firestorm, twirling her staff above her head. The flames manifest themselves along the edges of the staff, and Shara slams one end into the ground, sending a red-hot wave several yards ahead in every direction. Xittan and Drake are thrown back by the sheer force of the wave, and land side-by-side in the snow several feet away. "I didn't think they'd be this well put-together...", Xittan says, breathing heavily. "What's the plan?" Drake sports a defeated look and sighs. "Looks like 'Mission Failed' this time...", he says. "We'll have to fall back for now..."

Lucian stares Artemecia down. He'd stopped time Around her to give himself an opportunity to dodge Jin and Shara's attack, but she didn't seem to be affected by his powers at all. She'd moved out of the way just as he had, not even a bit slower than she was before. Apparently, his confusion showed on his face. "What's the matter?", asks Artemecia, advancing slowly. "Your little time tricks not working for you?" As she nears Lucian, he prepares his weapon for another round. "What the hell _are _you...?", he asks as she circles him. "I could ask _you_ the same thing...", she replies before quickly lunging at him for a melee strike with both handguns. He blocks quickly and returns with a swing of his own, but Artemecia rolls sideways and trains the golden handgun on his head. Instinctively, Lucian brings one hand around to swat the gun off course. Both of them stagger to the side and attempt to strike again, resulting in a heavy clash of their weapons; their faces just inches from each other. By now, both are breathing heavily and exhausted from the extensive use of their powers. Drake's voice breaks Lucian's focus on the struggle. "Hey, Lucian!", he calls. "That's enough for now! We have to fall back!" Axion folds his arms and dematerializes his keyblade. "They won't dare bother us on our own territory again.", he says. "Artemecia, we're done here too..." Irocu grunts in disappointment and points one twitching claw at Drake. "I'll get you next time, boy!", he declares before joining Axion, Jin and Shara. Artemecia gives a sigh of objection and breaks away, leaving Lucian to fall face-first in the snow. "We should do this again sometime...", she tells him teasingly as he sits up and shakes his head. "What do you say we pick up here next time we meet, hm?" Lucian stands, sheathes his weapon and joins Drake and Xittan on the other side of the cliff. "It's a date.", he says with a grin. The group from Castle Oblivion vanishes in unison as Drake approaches Lucian and puts a hand on his shoulder. "Um...", Drake begins. "You _are_ aware she tried to kill you, and almost succeeded, right...?" Lucian stares blankly at Castle Oblivion and sighs. "I know...", he replies. "Isn't she great?"

Inside Castle Oblivion, Shadow observes Axion, Irocu and Artemecia return with Jin and Shara. A figure hidden in the darkness of the room's unlit corner leans against the wall, a blade the same size and make as Lucian's slung over his shoulder. "So, the kid's made up his mind, has he...?", the figure asks in a gruff voice. Shadow turns from the window and nods. "It would seem so.", he replies. "Do with him what you will. I care not for the...personal issue... between the two of you... Just bear in mind that until further notice, you fight for me. Not for Xehanort, not for The Judge, but me alone... And make no mistake, I _will_ punish your conversion..." The figure hoists his weapon onto his back and growls. "Tell yourself what you will...", he says on his way out of the room. "But rest assured, after I'm done serving you, there'll be hell to pay, should you bother me again." Shadow returns his attention to the window and clasps his hands together behind his back. "You can come out now...", he says, seemingly to his reflection in the window. He continues to watch the reflection as a mirrored image of Vanitas appears behind him in the glass of the window. "So, what's the word...?", Vanitas asks, closing the door and locking it.

"Nothing for now...", Shadow replies, finally turning to face Vanitas. "But I want you to keep an eye on my old...Project. I may have been wrong when I assessed him as useless... He may come to prove his worth to me after all..." Vanitas nods obediently before sinking down into his shadow and vanishing from sight, leaving Shadow alone in the room with his thoughts...


	8. Kingdom Hearts Third Episode

Kingdom Hearts Third Act: Reunion 

~Thanks for waiting! Editing this episode took a LOT longer than I'd hoped... Hopefully, the quality makes up for it, yeah?

Today's chapter introduces:

* Yiruku - A character created by SilverStarGirl of our forum.

* JAX and LUNA - Two characters from the mind of our forum's very own Katana001.

*Rahkshata - A character thought up by Yours Truly.

Don't forget, you can join us at our forum and toss in a character or two of your own. After all, EVERYONE'S invited to the End of the World!

- Project 13

"Vanitas..."

"What now...?"

"Look sharp; It would appear you'll soon be having company."

"Company, huh? Well, I don't plan on sticking around too much longer... Not my kinda place, y'know?"

"As soon as you've done your job, get back to Castle Oblivion immediately, is that clear?"

"Yeah, yeah, it's clear, alright? Now let me get back to work already..."

"Disrespectful little- Just hurry it up..."

Vanitas sighs in frustration as the vague features of Shadow begin to vanish from the doorway. Today's job must've been extremely important for Shadow to speak to him in person. Whatever. His only task at the moment is to re-awaken security in his area; The underground manufacturing lab beneath the corridors of Hollow Bastion. Presently, he has traversed many hallways and encountered many humanoid robots lying inactive about the floors. Vanitas kneels beside one of these robots and fumbles with its controls. With no power source, and no knowledge of the robots' inner workings, this would prove annoyingly difficult...

His mind absorbed in the task at hand, Vanitas does not notice a feminine figure wearing a white porcelain feline mask enter the room behind him. The figure reaches a gloved hand out toward Vanitas from the doorway silently, but a voice from down the hall seems to ruin her plans. "I think it was this way!", the voice calls. Upon hearing it, Vanitas stands quickly, turns toward the door and vanishes in a plume of black smoke. The masked woman groans with irritation and hurries off down the hall, bumping into a masculine figure in her haste. She stares up at the figure, her eyes open wide in shock beneath her mask. The man raises a suspicious eyebrow at her, but a voice from behind him derails his train of thought.

"Yiriku...", Aerith says, approaching them with Alex and Raven close behind her. "Why'd you stop? Did you find something?" The line comes to a halt at the sight of the masked woman, and Aerith tilts her head curiously. "Did you fall into the abyss and wind up here, too?", she asks. The woman in the feline mask simply shakes her head, signaling 'no', and pushes her way past them without a word. "Hm...", Alex remarks. "She seemed to know where she was going. She couldn't be lost, could she...?" Raven folds his arms and returns his gaze forward, staring down the hall. "She's none of our concern...", he replies. "We're only here to re-supply so we can get moving again..." The masked girl fades out of view, and Aerith turns to Yiriku. "Yiriku, the way she stared at you just now...", she begins, taking point at the front of the line. "Did you know her, by any chance?" Yiriku scratches his chin and ultimately shrugs in defeat. "She seems familiar.", he answers. "But she _couldn't _be who I think she was... Not in a place like this..." Sensing the vexation in Yiriku's voice, Alex puts a sympathetic hand on his companion's shoulder, which prompts Yiriku to assure the group that the matter is nothing to be concerned about, and from thereon continue to follow Aerith, who enters the room that Vanitas and the masked woman were just standing in.

Upon entering the room, the first thing the group notices is the large number of inactive robots strewn about the floor and corners. Many of them sit upright, their heads lying cheek-to-shoulder, like old, discarded dolls. The room is dark, lit by a lone weak bulb hanging above the center of the floor, flickering between life and death. In one brief flicker of the bulb, Raven's eye catches a glass cylinder- completely intact- protruding from the ceiling on the far side of the room. A figure shrouded in shadows floats docilely within. "Hey...", he says, lightly tapping Alex on the shoulder. "I thought the old Bastion's labs were for robot development." Alex nods, slightly disturbed that Raven was showing him any sort of camaraderie. "Yeah, that's what all the reports said...", he replies. "What made you bring that up?" Instead of answering verbally, Raven points to the glass cylinder across the room. Aerith is the first to approach it. Inside is a feminine figure, seemingly unconscious, and without clothing.. Here was a survivor of the deactivation of the lab. Aerith surmised that she slept soundly, totally oblivious to the world crumbling to dust around her. She couldn't help but feel envious of the girl inside the glass. Suddenly, a light comes stabbing through the glass from the inside. The girl within opens one eye and the light intensifies as it darts around the room, piercing the chests of Aerith, Yiriku, Alex and Raven. Each of them (with the exception of Raven) flinches as the light pierces their hearts and weakens them. With a quiet detonation, the glass cylinder explodes outward.

The light growing unbearably bright, the group is forced to turn away from the cylinder as shards of red-hot glass and scalding water are flung throughout the room by the explosion. Alex, who was previously shielding his eyes, now blinks rapidly as the light begins to die. He jumps backward and falls over in surprise, as the girl inside the cylinder is now standing inches from his face, blankly staring forward. Yiriku materializes his keyblade and trains it on their new guest, but she doesn't react to his hostility at all. She simply stands in place, staring at the wall, never blinking and never uttering a single word. Ten minutes pass, as everyone stares at her in curiosity. Aerith boldly approaches her and puts a hand on her shoulder. "Hello there.", she says in as gentle a voice as she could manage. "Would you mind telling us who you are?" The girl finally responds, turning her head to face Aerith so quickly that everyone jumps in place. "_Would you mind telling us who you are?"_, she mimics. Yiriku scratches his head and leans casually on his keyblade. "Does she even understand us?", he asks, half bored and half impatient. "I think she's having trouble registering what's going on", Aerith suggests after a minute of silence. "Maybe if we introduce ourselves, she'll slowly come around." With that, she bows respectfully to the memetic girl and introduces herself. "I'm Aerith Gainsborough", she says, stepping aside as Alex follows suit. "Name's Alex.", he says with a polite nod. "I'm Yiriku.", the third of them says as he approaches her. As Yiriku steps back into place, the trio turns to Raven, who looks them all over and folds his arms. "This is stupid...", he says. "You don't really think this'll work, do you?" Alex shrugs and gestures toward the girl. "Well, Mr. Raven...", he begins. "We don't have any other ideas, so it's worth a shot, right?" Raven rolls his eyes beneath his mask and exhales sharply. "Fine...", he says, approaching the girl at last and waving lazily. "My name is Raven..."

The girl's eyes suddenly widen, and she begins to shake uncontrollably. In one fluid motion, she lets out a terrified shriek and takes cover behind Aerith. "See, _this _is why I don't do things like this..." , Raven groans. Alex scratches his chin in contemplation. "Hmm...", he observes. "She seems to be afraid of Raven for some reason..." Yiriku nods justly. "Well, can you blame her?", he replies, gesturing over to Raven. "Look at him, he's just downright scary!" Yiriku looks at Raven, only to find him staring back, his eyes narrowed in annoyance. "Er, no offense, of course, Raven.", he says with a nervous chuckle, to which Raven simply groans and turns his back. Aerith lightly pats the girl's head in an attempt to calm her down. "There, there...". she says soothingly. "What's the matter?" The girl points to Raven with a trembling hand. "Darkness...", she croaks. "Darkness, darkness, darkness..." To this, Raven folds his arms and says nothing. "I get it...", Alex says, presumably thinking out loud. "She must be able to see the darkness within a person's heart. I don't mean to offend anyone, but Mr. Raven definitely seems like he'd house the most darkness in his heart. I guess that level of darkness was enough to scare her." Raven turns and walks quickly toward the door. "I get it already...", he says, passing the doorway and turning down the hall. "Maybe it'd be better if I just went and looked around by myself..." Aerith raises a hand to stop him, but lowers it after realizing he was likely out of earshot by now. Spying a cloth lying in the corner, she quickly makes her way over to it, unfolds it and drapes it around the girl to cover her up. The girl clutches the cloth tightly, as if it made her feel safer. "That's only temporary.", Aerith says to her. "Until we get out of here and find some real clothes."

"Wait a minute...", Yiriku says. "If she can sense the darkness in peoples' hearts, could it be possible that she awakened because she sensed our hearts? " Alex nods while examining a scrapped robot in the corner. "I thought about that too.", he replies. "She seems to respond to the heart more than anything else, so that's likely the case. Why do you ask?" Yiriku shrugs and begins to pace the floor. "Because if it turns out to be true...", he begins. "Maybe there are more like her down here... Those who are awakened by the presence of hearts..." To this, Alex transitions into a whole new train of thought. It was entirely possible that others like this girl existed in other remote parts of the lab, and it was also entirely possible that just the simple act of being in the same room as the other ones would breathe life into them. "Do you really think there could be?", he asks out loud. As if on cue, the entire underground structure begins to shake violently as a tremor passes through from a far away area, prompting Aerith, Yiriku and Alex to brandish their weapons and form a triangle around the girl. "You had to ask, didn't you...?", Yiriku mutters as another tremor passes through.

No more than a second later, A loud metallic _CLANG _ resounds through the underground, and a dark blur goes flying by in the doorway. Aerith leads the group out into the hall in time to see Raven slide down the nearest wall. On the opposite side of the hall is a large hulking robot, steam billowing from it. From its wrists protrude two mighty hands, and its eyes seem to be fixed on Raven, who stands quickly, scythe in hand, and growls. "What _is _this thing?", Alex exclaims, his grip on his keyblade tightening. The girl, upon entering the hallway, lays eyes upon the massive robot and immediately becomes energetic. "Father !", she exclaims happily. The huge robot at the opposite end of the hall takes notice of her and its rage only seems to intensify. Raven and Alex step forward to engage it. "Ms. Aerith...", Alex says, his stern tone masking his confusion. "We'll put this thing down. You and Yiriku take the girl and look for a place to hide! I think it's after her..." Aerith nods dutifully and complies, taking off down the other end of the hallway taking the girl by the hand with Yiriku close behind. A low mumble can be heard from Raven's direction; too low to be directed at anyone. He carries on talking to himself for a few seconds, then turns slightly to cast a glance at Alex. "I don't think that's quite right...", Raven says. "He's not after her, he thinks _we're _after her."

"How do you know that?", Alex asks. Before Raven has time to answer, the gargantuan robot charges them, and swings a powerful arm at them, dislodging parts of the ceiling as the two duck beneath it. With its other hand, the robot returns with a straight punch that sends them both tumbling down the hall. Alex is the first to stand. "Okay, now...", he says, his eyes trained on the approaching assailant."Care to explain this theory of yours?" The robot begins to beat its chest dominantly. "The girl we found in the chamber...", Raven says, not quite yet standing up. "She looked at this robot and seemed to recognize it instantly... She even called it 'Father'. It's possible she knew it long before now, and was probably used to its protection. This guy was just awakened, and I guess he assumed we were trying to take her from here." Alex nods in comprehension and begins to tense up. I get it...", he mutters, seemingly to himself. Then how do we convince him we're not the bad guys?" Raven scoffs and slings his scythe over his shoulder. "That part I haven't figured out yet...", he replies quietly. "In the meantime, I suggest we cut the conversation short and try hard not to die, sound good to you?" Alex takes a deep breath and nods. In tandem, they turn their attention back to the robot.

The hostile giant charges with the momentum of a freight train down the hall toward its targets, both fists in position to deliver strikes that may very well prove instantly fatal, should they connect. Alex holds his keyblade in a defensive stance with both hands and raises a barrier of lightning from the ground, covering the entire section of the hallway with it. The robot pays it no mind and rams right through, forcing Alex and Raven to retreat further down the hall. Enraged by the ineffective attempt to stop it, the robot emits a deep hiss, steam emanating from its joints. It lets one of its fists fly, winding up and unleashing the blow with shotgun force at Raven, who turns just in time to catch its fist with both hands and push back. Never letting go of the Robot's hand, Raven is sent skidding backwards down the hallway on his feet until the end of the corridor finally comes into view. "Alex...", Raven says with an indifferent tone. "I'd hate to sound critical, but if there was ever a time to do something, now would probably be it..." Alex is now thinking frantically. Suddenly, an idea pops into mind. Without a moment's hesitation, he chases after the deadlocked pair of Raven and the mechanical giant, leaping onto the latter's back. "I hope he's not as durable as he looks...", Alex says beneath his breath as he imbues his keyblade with a magical red aura and drives it into the robot's back before quickly jumping off. Immediately afterward, and the red aura ignites in a brilliant fireball, the explosion causing the robot to spiral toward the wall even faster than before. Now in danger of being crushed between the wall and the robot's fist, Raven allows himself to drop to the floor as the robot flies by above him, barreling headlong to the end of the hallway and breaking clean through the wall. "I... I got him...", Alex stammers. Raven stands and dusts himself off. "I can see that...", he says, staring blankly at the massive gaping hole in the wall. "Um, we'd probably better follow him... He might be trying to follow the others." Alex nods and follows Raven through the gap...

Elsewhere in the underground, A woman with long blonde ringlets, a black, high-collared cloak and a violin tethered to her back makes her way into an empty lab. "Ugh...", she utters. This is exactly what I need, non? Not a sign of life for miles in any direction... How did I end up here in the first place...?" Fighting back a yawn, the woman prepares to continue onward, when a massive flaming robot crashes in through the eastern wall and forces her to dive to the side in evasion. It crashes through the western wall and disappears from sight soon after. Raven dashes in through the hole in the eastern wall and stops in the center of the room, shortly followed by Alex. "Damn it!", Raven exclaims as he notices the hole in the western wall. "He still hasn't stopped flying!" Alex shakes his head in disbelief. "I think he's still riding the tailwind of that explosion!", he says. "We'll never catch him at this rate..." They prepare to resume chasing after the giant, but are soon halted again by the voice of the woman in the corner. "Mon Dieu!", she exclaims, standing and shaking her head. The first signs of life at all in this place, and they're both crazy! What are you two doing?" Raven's eyes dart rapidly from the woman, to the robot's trail of destruction many times. "We don't have much time for explanations...", he says finally. "But I assure you we're not crazy." Alex nods in confirmation. "That's right!", he says. "We just have to follow the big flaming metal man through the hole in the wall and convince him we're not here to kidnap the girl in the glass tube!" The woman raises a disturbed eyebrow and nods slowly. "Okaaaaay", she says after a long and incredibly awkward silence. "Well, seeing as how you two are the first living people I've seen down here, I'll tag along and lend a hand, yes?" Raven nods impatiently and motions for her to follow. The newly-formed trio makes their way through the hole in the western wall after the robot.

As they try to close the distance between themselves and the elusive giant, the trio takes time to quickly survey the areas the robot has been through. Decimated rooms, crumbled walls, hardly anything left standing. This robot, they surmised, was the very epitome of fortitude. "excusez-moi...", the woman says, her voice breaking the silence. "But can either one of you kindly tell me where this is...?" Raven tilts his head inquisitively. "We're in Hollow Bastion...", he says. " Wait a minute, you don't know where you are...? Then how'd you get here?" The woman shrugs innocently. "Je ne sais pas...", she replies. "I was with a friend in Traverse Town, the last thing I remember. Then, an earthquake shakes down the district, and the next instant, here I am..." Evidently, the tremors and fissures that had claimed Aerith, Alex, Drake and Raven were still ravaging Traverse Town even now. The very though causes Raven to pause and think about how many other worlds could have been affected by the tremors. Alex's voice breaks his concentration. "Er, Mr. Raven...", he calls, uneasiness altering his tone. "Do you remember how we figured out those robots were activated because they sensed Darkness...? What if it wasn't just the darkness in _you_ that they detected...?" Raven turns to give Alex a dubious look from beneath his mask, but finds both Alex and their new companion's attention occupied by a group of druid-like clawed figures floating toward them through the most recent hole in the wall. They are as dark as night, with stars and constellations decorating cloaks giving shape to their slender bodies. "Heartless...?", Raven puzzles out loud, reaching for his weapon. "I don't think so...", Alex responds, following suit. "They look way too organized to be Heartless, and I don't see an insignia anywhere..." The woman suddenly materializes a keyblade from a beam of white light from the palm of her hand. The keyblade is pink and white, a treble clef at the guard, and musical notes scattered around the hilt. "So, Xittan was right...", she says. They _are _following me... "

Meanwhile, Aerith, Yiriku and the girl from the damaged lab finally catch a glimpse of sunlight around the corner from the hall the have just entered. "That's the way out!", Yiriku exclaims, speeding up at the sight. "We're almost there, let's go!" Aerith begins to slow down as Yiriku takes point. "I don't like this...", she says, looking over her shoulder at the nearer side of the hall. "Shouldn't Alex and Raven have caught up with us by now...? I'm starting to get worried." Yiriku turns his head slightly, never once slowing his pace. "Aw, don't worry about it.", he says, offering a half smile. "They're probably on their way right now... I bet we won't be seeing that big robot ever again!" No sooner do these words leave his mouth than a massive blur bursts through the floor in front of him. Yiriku jumps backward, tumbles and stands quickly, keyblade in hand to see the huge robot from the lower halls, standing mere inches from him. "Er... Right...", he says with a slight shudder. "Forget what I said..." The girl, upon catching sight of the robot, immediately breaks into a run at him, leaving Aerith's side. "Father!", she cries again. The robot reaches both mighty arms outward toward the girl, and Yiriku raises a hand to stop it, but quickly realizes there is no need. Both he and Aerith give a relieved sigh as they watch the giant embrace the girl with a surprisingly gentle hug. "He was protecting her all along...", Aerith observes with a smile. "Alex and Raven should be safe then." Upon releasing his little companion, the robot suddenly jumps, as if remembering something. It hisses with steam and whistles loudly, all the while, pointing to the empty hall behind Aerith and Yiriku. "I think he's trying to tell us something! ", Yiriku says, rubbing his chin. "It has to be about the lower levels, seeing as how that's the only thing behind us." The girl studies the robot's noises and gestures intently, nodding as if the two were having a casual conversation. After several minutes, she turns to Aerith urgently. "The two...", she says, joining her large friend in pointing at the end of the hall. "The Nothing has found them! The Nothing!" Aerith gasps as the realization dawns on her. "She's talking about Alex and Raven!", she exclaims, confusion and worry becoming evident on her face.

The robot leads the group back down to where Alex and Raven had pursued him hours ago. They walk interminably, retracing the robot's steps, and eventually coming across a hallway that seems familiar to him. There are signs of a fresh struggle everywhere in the hall. Black, scorched walls, still scorched from recent magic, wide claw marks, torn deep into the ceilings and parts of the floor, strange energies surging through the room, filling the air with a tint of melancholy. Aerith surveys the walls and floor intently, and is so focused on doing so that she jumps in fright when she feels a tug at the fabric of her dress. She looks down, relieved to see the girl, staring up at her, holding something tightly in one hand. She presents her discovery to Aerith, who takes it and examines it in horror, instantly recognizing it as Raven's mask. "Too late...", the girl says slowly. "The Nothing took them..."

"Took them...?", Yiriku repeats in a combination of shock and curiosity. "Took them _where_?" Before his question could be answered, a gruff voice cuts through the atmosphere in the room from the side of the hall leading to the surface. "Aerith! It's you after all...", a familiar voice calls. "So the topside reports turned out to be accurate..." Aerith turns in immediate recognition of the voice. Standing at the end of the hall are her fellow members of the restoration committee, Leon and Yuffie. It was Leon's voice she'd heard seconds ago. His stern, unchanging expression distinct, even at a distance. Yuffie stood beside him, a satchel at her waist, and a file folder in her hands. All her attention seems to be focused there for the moment. "Leon! Yuffie!", Aerith calls to her associates, still shaken up. "Have you seen two-"

Leon holds up a hand to interrupt her. "They're gone, Aerith...", he says, folding his arms. "Come with us... You may not like what you're about to see, but we've got a serious problem..."


	9. Castle Oblivion Fourth Episode

Castle Oblivion Fourth Act: A Project and a Prisoner

*As more of the worlds succumb to the pull of the Void, the story shifts over to Castle Oblivion once again!

Today's episode introduces:

*Missy Ishoka - A character created by Antagonist Obsessed, of our forum, and DeviantART.

*Seth - Another character created by our forum's Katana001

Enjoy!

"He's gone again..."

"Who's gone?"

"That weird one... Axel calls him Stranger, since he keeps leavin' by himself."

"Oh, you mean Axion? I guess that's to be expected of him by now..."

"Sure, sure... Where d'ya think he's always runnin' off to? Can't think of a single place around here that's not buried in snow by now..."

Xigbar and Luxord break up their conversation as the main hall door creaks open, introducing an unpleasant cold wind to the comfortably warm air of the indoors. Axion enters Castle Oblivion and cuts a focused glare at both Xigbar and Luxord before storming off down the hall, letting himself into the next corridor and slamming the door behind him. "Was it just me, or did he seem riled about something...?", Luxord asks, folding his arms and staring at the door blankly. "Not my job to find out...", Xigbar replied uninterestedly. "I don't keep tabs on the guy, and as long as he's pointin' that Keyblade of his at Kingdom Hearts and not us, I don't intend to start keepin' tabs on him..."

In the next corridor, Axion exhales sharply as he makes his way to his destination. He approaches a figure who leans idly against a wall, fingers tapping the mortar in impatience. The instant Axion comes into earshot, the figure snaps to attention, whipping his head in Axion's direction, and quickly searching his hands for a weapon, his eyes moving with mechanical precision. "That's hardly necessary, Seth...", Axion mutters, slowing his pace as the figure falls into step beside him. "As collected as you were when you arrived, I'd imagine you'd think so too..." Seth simply clenches a fist. "It would seem my...colleagues...have finally awakened...", he says, his voice suggesting a state of total calm. "That must mean Kingdom Hearts is making its move..."

He matches his pace with Axions and the two reach a door at the end of the hall, passing through it to reach the library.

A blur of claws and maniacal laughter almost knocks Axion over in an attempt to leave the room. Irocu stops suddenly, throwing an arm around Axion and flashing a devious grin. "Axion, buddy!", he exclaims directly into his companion's ear. "I hear tell we've got intruders around... What do ya say we hunt down and butcher the other two...?" Axion raises an eyebrow, Irocu's words sinking in at last. "Other two...?", he asks. "What do you mean by that?"

"Didn't you hear?", Irocu said, leading Axion through the door and away from Seth. "Shadow said three weird people just popped out of the sky outside Castle Oblivion. Salem caught one of 'em about an hour ago, right after you left. Wanna come along with me to hunt down the other two? Only fair they should die as a group, right?" Irocu chuckles to himself, anticipating the coming battle. "Actually, I think I'll try and get a bit of information out of the one we've already caught.", Axion replies calmly. "This prisoner might know a thing or two about the Keyblade of Darkness." Irocu shrugs and heads toward the main hall himself. "Suit yourself, pal.", he said with excitement. "Guess that means more for me!" With that, Irocu vanishes into the snow, and Axion turns and heads deeper into Castle Oblivion, eventually arriving in the cellar, where a woman with waist-length blonde hair (in ringlets) was tied to a chair. Salem was positioned nearby, leaning against a wall and intricately shuffling a deck of playing cards.

"Salem...", Axion called upon entering the room. "I understand we have a...guest...?" Salem grunts in amusement and opens his hand, allowing his cards to fly all over the room and litter the floor. "Guests? That's what we're callin' these guys?", he asks grinning smugly and turning to the door. "If you're here to get any info out of her, you're wastin' your time... Insulted me in French, and hasn't said a word since then..." Axion folds his arms and scoffs. "Never know unless I try...", he mutters, taking a step closer to the woman. "Fine by me...", Salem said, opening his hand and narrowing his eyes as the playing cards all over the floor return to his hand. "Just don't untie her... She may look cute and harmless, but she's got one hell of a left-hook..." Axion nods carelessly and watches Salem leave the room before once again approaching the woman.

"Where do you come from...?", Axion asked, a tone of curiosity clear in his voice. The woman refuses to answer, or even raise her head to look at him. Flustered, Axion folds his arms and closes his eyes. "How long are you going to keep up that helpless prisoner act...?", he asks coldly. "An average playing card deck has 52 cards total... When Salem called his cards back, he only left the room with 51... Or did you think I wouldn't notice...?" The woman looks up, her eyes wide with shock one instant, then alight with fascination the next. "Ohh, and here I thought I was being clever...", she said finally, shrugging off the ropes that bound her to the chair and revealing the blade-edged playing card she'd used to cut them. "C'est la vie..." She stands and gives the playing card to Axion with a grin. "Your friend will want this back, non?", she asks. "But how did you know I took one of them? I was careful to catch it before it hit the ground. Not a sound to be heard. Très intelligent."

Axion rolls his eyes and sighs. "It wasn't hard to figure out...", he said. "Now back to my previous question; Where did you come from?" The woman sighs deeply and turns to face the door. "Hollow Bastion...", she replied quietly. "Xittan warned me that those monsters were following me, but I never expected them to be able to find me on a different world!" Axion instinctively raised an eyebrow to her words. Everyone seemed to be seeing monsters lately, him especially. "What monsters?", he asked urgently. "What did they look like?" The woman shifts her gaze to the ceiling, as if trying hard to remember. "I remember them now, oui.", she says with a nod. "Hoods and long robes. No faces, but blood red eyes, and nothing but dark space all over their bodies!" Axion recalls encountering similar druid-like creatures upon his arrival at Castle Oblivion, but says nothing about it. "You aren't like that other person at all...", the Woman says, causing Axion to lose his train of thought. "He was so rude! Always giving orders, even though it's parfaitement clair he has no authority."

"What were you doing in Hollow Bastion...?", Axion asks, hoping to piece together an answer to an ulterior question. The woman shakes her head in defiance and frowns. "That, I cannot tell you.", she replies. Axion grunts in frustration. "Looks like this might take a while...", he says under his breath.

Meanwhile, Seth continues his trek through the library, when he encounters Axel, who is walking beside an unfamiliar figure. "I'm beginning to lose track of all these new arrivals...", he says, placing a hand to his forehead and staring at the ceiling. "Now who is this?" Axel simply scoffs and shakes his head. "This is Missy.", he replies at last, gesturing to his companion. "She hasn't been here very long, but Larxene doesn't seem to mind the company... And personally, I think the girl's got excellent taste in weapons!" He offers a slight nod toward Missy, who reveals a large chakram tethered to her back, composed of two colored sides. "There's talk going around that we've found a few strays outside...", Missy says, sounding as though she'd been a part of the team for years. "I want to go have a look. I'll bet at least one person's already looking into it, but I want to see this for myself..." Seth folds his arms casually and grunts. "Well, I don't think Irocu would mind very much...", he says. "But I'm sure you'll reconsider after being around him for about five minutes. He just left through the front gate not long ago... You should be able to catch him if you hurry... " Missy nods quickly and starts off in the direction of the main hall. Seth then returns his attention to Axel. "What the hell is Xehanort planning here...?", he asks bitterly. "It's battle after battle, day in and day out, but what for? I haven't heard any more about this 'Dark Keyblade' than the day I showed up here. If he's actually off his arse and doing something, It's a total mystery to the rest of us!"

"To tell the truth, I'm doubting Xehanort is even himself...", Axel replies with a vague roll of the wrist. "I mean, he's always going on about darkness being the way to Utopia and whatnot... But ever since the PULSE passed through the Lanes Between, he's been different. the darkness in peoples' hearts doesn't seem to interest him anymore... What I really wanna know is, what's he plan on doing when we find this Keyblade he's so obsessed with...?" Seth chuckles, then breaks into a full laugh as he turns his back on Axel. "That much has been obvious to me from the beginning...", he says, clasping his hands together behind his back. "Think about it... What would someone like him wish for if he'd found a Keyblade that could give him whatever he wanted...? Naturally, he'd demand what most of us want: Supremacy. Don't you see? To win this war, Manus Deius must be destroyed, and as you know, Kingdom Hearts isn't prepared to let that happen. The result, armageddon. In the confusion, Xehanort scores the final win for Castle Oblivion: claiming the Mano del Diablo and shattering the Light Keyblade. And, of course, no one will be able to oppose him and live once he's got that unholy weapon... And they'll be even less likely to try when he amplifies his own power to astronomical proportions... It's quite simple really... He wants to be God..."

Meanwhile, Missy catches up to Irocu in the barren freeze beyond the castle gate. "You must be Irocu...", she says, falling into step beside him. Irocu turns his head and looks back briefly before continuing on through the snow. "I swear this place is getting more crowded by the day...", he growls, his piercing eyes darting about the snow in search of movement. "Look, I'm busy... Some hero's sneaking around here, and I'm trying to sniff him out before he can cause trouble." Missy's expression becomes one of utter confusion. "A hero causing trouble here?", she asks. "Why would we be causing trouble for our own...?" Irocu nearly chokes on the chilled air as he hears Missy's words. "Our own?", he barks, his full menacing stare now directed at her. "You don't honestly believe WE'RE the good-guys in this little game, do you?" Missy folds her arms confidently and meets his glare with one of her own. "And why is that so surprising?", she asks crossly. "Our causes are right to us, and Kingdom Hearts' causes are right to them. What is there that says THEY aren't the evil ones?" Irocu prepares to once again raise his voice, but he is prematurely halted by the sound of footsteps crunching through the nearby snow. "Alex?", calls a disgruntled voice from not too far away. "Damn it, this is bad. For all I know, we didn't even get sent to the same place... Aerith's gonna kill me..."

Irocu growls sternly at Missy, as if to say 'I'll deal with you later', and quickly turns on his heels to face the source of the voice. Over a hill and into plain sight comes Raven, now unmasked and covering his left eye with his right hand. His right eye scans the snow and stops immediately on Irocu and Missy. The eye narrows, and he stops walking, but says nothing. "You must be one of the strays I've heard about..." Irocu says, his voice coming alive with amusement. "Looks like we're one stray short, but unfortunately for you, I don't have the patience to spare you while we search for your friend... So, can you fight?" A sly grin begins to take shape on Raven's face. "Well, why not try me?", he asks, baring his abnormally sharp canine teeth. Missy turns at the waist and brandishes her weapon with incredible speed. "I'm going to fight as well...", she says adamantly. "Fine...", Irocu grunts. "But get in my way, and I have no problem turning this into a free-for-all..."

Irocu takes point and charges at Raven, who kicks upward with one foot, narrowing his eye as a glint of silver flies into the air with the snow. Just as Irocu reaches him, he catches his scythe from midair and parries away a close swipe from Irocu's claws. He then brings his weapon around to the side for a horizontal swipe, which Irocu ducks beneath and returns with a knee to the back, sending Raven stumbling toward Missy, who spins and flings her chakram at the ground, watching as it rolls along, slicing through the snow before hitting Raven and bouncing into the air with him still clinging to the blade. Missy then leaps after her weapon and kicks him away from it before splitting it apart into two blades and landing in a kneel in the snow. Raven regains his balance in midair and skids backward on his feet as he lands. "Alright, so I'm not fighting amateurs...", he chokes out before wiping a bit of blood from his lip. "Great... I guess that means I have to take this seriously..." Irocu scoffs and pursues him, feet barely touching the snow. "I'd be insulted if you didn't!", he calls, preparing for another bout. Raven ducks beneath a horizontal swipe of his attacker's claws and shoves him away using the body of his scythe. A figure falls toward him from overhead, but he jumps backward as Missy lands, splitting her chakram into two curved blades and impaling the ground where Raven had once been standing. She quickly frees her weapons from the snow and lunges toward him again, only to be blocked. Irocu bounds into the skirmish from the background and forces Raven back on his feet with a momentum-powered kick. Raven, keeping his left eye closed, allows himself a small grin as he kicks up a thick burst of snow from the ground, temporarily blinding his opponents.

"Hiding won't save you if we've got the home field advantage!", Irocu threatens, swiping at the falling snow to clear the area around them. Not a trace of Raven can be found anywhere. No footprints, no signs of movement, nothing at all. Missy turns to her side instinctively and enters a battle stance. "He hasn't left...", she warns, staring at the ground. "He's definitely beneath us, but he's not underground..." Irocu gives her a lost stare and slackens his shoulders. "What the hell does that even mean?", he asks confusedly. "It _means_ he's moving on a separate dimensional plane somehow...", she answers, quickly turning as the snow to the west begins to stir. A flock of black birds with no features or faces erupts from a shadow on the ground. They circle overhead twice and immediately dive toward Irocu, swarming him and then passing right through him as he falls to the ground. The birds then begin to merge together and take the form of Raven once again, weapon drawn. "Perceptive...", Raven admits to Missy, training his scythe on her. "I'll have to deal with you quickly, then..." To this, Missy simply replies with a sigh and a fighting stance. Raven attempts a circular slash at face-level with his scythe, which Missy stops with one blade while countering with the other. Raven barely manages to angle his weapon so that the body blocks the counterattack, then breaks away to go for a heavy upward slash, making use of his weapon's long reach. Missy blocks the attack, but the force sends her stumbling backward, giving Raven enough time to dip the blade of his scythe into his shadow and pull it back up, now glowing an eerie black with energy. He unloads a crescent slash that sends that energy off the blade and toward Missy, who quickly forms a chakram with her blades again and spins it in front of her in place of a shield. The energy wave disperses upon contact, and Missy keeps the momentum of the spin going as she hurls the chakram at her adversary, who leans backward to avoid it as it sails over him. As Raven unwinds from his dodge, he anticipates the chakram's return. When nothing happens, however, he turns away to see Irocu holding onto the thrown weapon and charging toward him, already too close to stop. Irocu deals a massive blow to Raven's side with the chakram before tossing it back to Missy, who twirls it overhead, slashing him across the back and sending him tumbling into the snow. Irocu kicks Raven over onto his back and places a foot on his chest. "You'd probably put up a more respectable fight if you'd open that eye of yours...", he criticizes, reaching for Raven's still-shut left eye.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you...", Raven warns, not really making an attempt to stop him. "Nothing good ever comes of it..." Irocu laughs dismissively, placing one finger above Raven's left eye, and his thumb below it. "Nothing good ever comes of getting on my bad side, either...", he threatens, forcing Raven's eyelids apart. No sooner than Raven's eye opens wide does a massive beam of pure black energy fire from it, sending Irocu straight upward into the air, then back into the snow. Raven stands and sighs, not bothering to close his eye again. The eye itself is jet black, and the pupil bears a familiar red and black insignia...

"You're a Heartless...?", Missy asks, her expression turning in surprise. "How is it that you have a human form, or speak, for that matter?" Raven scoffs and opens his left eye wide. "That's not any of your concern...", he snaps, preparing to fire another beam. "And you've seen too much already, so this is the end of the line for you..." Another buildup of black energy stems from his eye as he prepares another devastating beam. Missy stands her ground and holds her weapon tightly. Raven groans- as if in pain- as another dark beam blasts forward from his eye. Missy waits for the beam to draw nearer, then dodges to the side of it before charging at the Heartless again. Raven strains himself to keep the beam going, turning his head to follow Missy as she avoids it, mowing down several trees in the process. After several minutes and fallen trees, the beam dies, and Raven staggers backward, leaning against a severed tree stump for support. "Damn...", he whispers to himself. "I overdid it... I shouldn't try that while the sun is up..." A frenzied laugh stops Raven from mentally scolding himself. He quickly looks up to see Irocu, sliding on his feet down a tree in the process of falling over. "Now, I'm interested!", he shouts, leaping from the tree as it hits the ground and landing directly in front of Raven. He unleashes a flurry of lightning-fast swipes with his claws, which Raven struggles to dodge. Irocu finally catches him with a devastating knee to the ribs, sending the Heartless to one knee. He prepares to strike again, but Raven grabs his wrist and stands quickly, turning Irocu around and delivering a straight kick to his side. Missy's chakram comes flying toward them from seemingly nowhere, and Raven immediately releases Irocu to run from it. He weaves in and out between trees as the chakram hot on his tail simply slices through them all. Behind him, he hears the sound of Irocu's claws scraping against the fallen trees. He skids forward for several seconds before making a sharp turn and charging Irocu, the chakram whizzing by overhead and right into the hand of its wielder, who had ran ahead of it. Surrounded, the Heartless leaps backward and fires one more dark beam from his eye, this one aimed at the ground between Missy and Irocu, separating them tumbling to opposite sides of the blast. "Third time's the charm, I guess...", Raven jeers to himself before falling backward against a tree and sitting in the snow, breathing heavily. "It would be a long time before he recovered from using his eye so carelessly...

Inside the castle, Seth makes his way into the main hall, his eyes shifting from area to area. They stop upon the familiar form of Artemecia, who is now absently watching her pet crow turn its head about from atop a bookshelf. "Have you heard about Xehanort's motives yet...?", Seth asks her in an apathetic tone. "The others are beginning to question him already... They wonder if assembling an army is really just his way of masking a much smaller scale but larger priority operation." Artemecia scoffs and turns to face Seth with a pensive expression. "I'm sure it wasn't too difficult to pick up on...", she reasons. "And if his last plan is any indication, we can expect him to already be getting into peoples' heads. The only thing about him that I trust is the fact that you can't trust him." Seth nods, suddenly detecting a sense of deep thought in Artemecia's expression. Artemecia was the kind who would shoot an ally down and walk away without a batting an eye. Deep thought was something she just didn't do. "I don't think I've ever seen that look before.", he observes, leaning against a wall and squinting. "You know something, don't you...?" Artemecia immediately stands and makes her way out of the room, her faithful bird leaving the bookshelf to follow her in the air. "Virgil has some explaining to do...", she says bluntly before vanishing through the door. "That's all I'll say for now..."

Outside, Raven continues to catch his breath with his back against the tree. With his eye burning so intensely, he barely notices the cold at all. "I can't stop long in the middle of enemy territory...", he says softly to himself. "Time to find a way back... But where will I even start...?"

He stands slowly, his vision blurred, and his head throbbing. He only manages a few steps before falling to one knee and taking several minutes to stand upright again. "Damn, at this rate, I'll die out here...", he growls hopelessly. He suddenly feels a rush of heat behind him as if someone was standing just inches away. "You won't die out here...", came Irocu's voice, colder than the air around them. "I wouldn't want to kill you without making a display of you to _everyone_..." Raven suddenly feels a sharp pain in the side of his head before dropping to the ground unconscious. Missy stares down at him, lowering her weapon and putting it away. "A human Heartless...", she muses. "There's not a doubt in my mind that Xehanort will want to see this..."

"Oh, just what I was thinking...", Irocu says, grabbing the unconscious Heartless by the ankle and dragging him back toward the Castle with Missy walking behind them. "I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Xehanort will put me in charge of dissecting him..."

-To Be Continued


End file.
